Kicked up North
by Boltfromtheblue201
Summary: Jaden and Syrus lose to the ParaDox Brothers and are kicked out of Duel Academy. Only North Academy is willing to take them in, throwing the duo into a new set of characters to meet and challenges to face. How would the events of Season 1 play out with The leading duo off up in the far North?
1. Shown the Door

_Hey! So this is my first story. As a rookie fanfic writer I will please ask of you to let me know of any criticisms and ways to improve on my fic through reviews or PM's. _

_I like to thank Osidiano for being my beta for this chapter. _Enjoy!__

_I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX or the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game. All trademarks go to their respective owners. _

"Wait teach, we actually are expelled?!" A voice boomed in the chancellor's office. Within Sheppard's office two crimson-clothed students stood before the Chancellor, with four guards blocking the only exit, with more guards in the hall beyond. One of the students tried to look as small and unnoticeable as possible, while the one who was responsible for the outburst was practically bouncing on the wide ceramic desk in front of him.

"You boys knew the rules and you decided to deliberately break them by going in that dorm!" The Chancellor sat with crossed hands, speaking in a sharp, disciplinary tone. "You lost the tag duel, so you are both expelled." The statement made Jaden pause, the weight of Sheppard's words sinking in. The other student was practically curled in a ball, shivering as if he was about to cry.

Jaden swallowed his unease before resuming. "Sheppard sir, I know we lost the duel, but is there any other way we can come clean on this whole shebang?" Jaden kept his upbeat and determined demeanor, though a faint voice in his head believed this was a hopeless attempt. "I know we made mistakes during the duel, but isn't that all part of the game?"

Syrus peeked slightly from his downward gaze upon hearing the word "mistake", his mind flashing through recent events, clouding his head in a storm of chatter and imagery. Syrus didn't want to talk, his being practically frozen in place. "Sy, help me out here?" Jaden turned to his fellow Slifer. "One mistake doesn't hurt in the long run right?" Jaden's sentence echoed into Syrus's head, and almost on cue it took him back to mere minutes ago...

* * *

"I play "Power Bond"!" Syrus boasted as he made his move, the young Slifer's enthusiasm bursting in the middle of the massive white stadium packed with hundreds of watching students. _"And my older bro said I wasn't ready to play this!"_ Syrus built up confidence in his head.

"I fuse Jaden's "Tempest" with my "UFOroid" to make "UFOroid Fighter"!" With a gesture towards the arena's roof Syrus commanded Jaden's winged Hero onto his own machine, the effects of "Power Bond" surging the new monster's power to incredible levels, even when compared to the towering "Gate Guardian" across the field. The crowd's cheers grew in propensity, with the jam-packed Slifer corner cheering the loudest in support of their fellow dormmates.

Para nearly froze at the sight of an 8000 ATK monster bearing down on them, but Dox merely nodded to his partner, not appearing concerned.

Syrus was filled with adrenaline, but a whisper in his head warned that something was not right. Syrus merely shook it off and called the attack to end the duel. ""Fighter"! Attack "Gate Guardian"!"

Dox responded with merely a smirk. "You smug little chap, you fell into my trap!" He unashamedly countered, playing his set card. ""Negate Attack"!" Syrus's jaw dropped in shock, the surprise attack mentally slamming him on the head. "_No! It was that one card in the corner they played at the start!" _Syrus's mind interjected in reaction. The young man's gamble backfired in his face yet again, and this time he dragged his best friend down with him.

The stands cried out in surprise at the sudden turn of the tables.

Somewhere in the crowd Duel Academy's leading senior strode out without so much as a word.

The two bald brothers laughed like hyenas. "Silly kid, you nailed your own casket, when you put all your chips in one basket." The brothers said in unison, their backup plan working wondrously.

"Aww man! It didn't go through!" Jaden stomped his foot on the floor in disappointment. "And with "Power Bond" that means..." Jaden turned to his partner, who just stood staring blankly forward. "Sy? Sy?" Jaden called to see if he was alright.

"It's the end..." Syrus spoke while the rest of him remained frozen in place. Unbeknownst to him, the choice of words ended his turn, causing the supercharged fusion monster to explode in a blast of virtual fire and smoke. Jaden and Syrus braced for the incoming blow, but it didn't prepare them for a blast strong enough to push them back. Both of them slid and fell down on the steel floor, their life point counter falling to zero.

Syrus laid still on the floor for what seemed like an eternity, staring up at the bright ceiling trying to speak words that never came forth from his mouth. Jaden jumped back up onto his feet, scratching his head which he had hit on the way down. "Slifer's Greatest Drop-Out Boy" took a small blow to his enthusiasm as well, the supposedly unbeatable rookie losing 2 duels in the past 2 days.

Meanwhile the Paradox Brothers waved and soaked in the cheers of the crowd, their victory the first the aging veterans tasted in many years. "Perhaps the treatment we gave those kids was a pity." Dox commented. Para patted his shoulder and replied "Don't dwell on it brother, cause we're off to Battle City!" The pair high-fived and made their way off the duel pad, with quite a few envious students and a couple reporters meeting them at the base of the platform.

"Hey Syrus! You alright over there?" Jaden spoke with a bit more concern, since Syrus hadn't moved for over a minute now. Before he could rush over to his friend's aid, a couple of the school's disciplinary guards seized him by the arms. Syrus's daze was interrupted when the white light was crowded out by the shadow-like appearance of half a dozen guards. "N-No! Wait!" Syrus tried to defend with his elbows, but a guard simply scooped him up and stormed toward the rear exit in a couple seconds.

"Syrus!" Jaden again yelled out to his friend, only to be carried off himself. "Ah- Let go of me you punks!" Jaden punched at his captors only to get his head shoved down by extra sets of arms. The guards were out of the stadium and off down the halls of the main building mere seconds later. Syrus appeared limp, apparently having given up trying to resist, but Jaden was fighting tooth and nail (literally) against his annoyed captors.

"Syrus! Hang on buddy! I'll be right there!"

* * *

"I-I..." Syrus found himself back to reality, but he struggled to find a response to Jaden's question. "I screwed it up, screwed it all up...". He quivered, realizing that not just him, but his best friend were expelled because of his mistake. Syrus's hold finally broke, breaking down into uncontrollable sobbing.

"Syrus.." Jaden clenched his fist, and knelt down to comfort his friend. "It's alright Sy! Syrus!" Jaden did his best to calm the younger Slifer's sobbing fit.

"Whether or not you lost the duel by mistake," Sheppard intruded, "You knew what was at stake the moment you two stepped into that forbidden dorm!"

"What we did was rescue Alexis from some weirdo hiding out there!" Jaden lashed back, with a rarely-seen anger starting to surface. "We- I fought to rescue my friends from danger, so I feel both my and Sy's expulsion is totally unfair!"

"ENOUGH!" The chancellor interrupted. "You both went in and dueled in there, putting everyone at this academy at risk with that shadow game! I can't let such serious threats to the school go unpunished, so you're both out of here!" Sheppard slammed his fist against the desk for emphasis, the typically calm old man capable of intimidating rage when his patience was tested.

"But..?" Jaden pecked, almost hesitantly.

"NO MORE! Get out!" Sheppard barked, pointing to the door.

"Chancellor!" Jaden started, but two guards from near the door seized the two Slifer Reds in an instant. "Ah, will you quit doing that?!" Jaden kicked and grabbed at the guards trying to take him, but the two muscular men got both of the students off the ground and made their way out the door to join with the extra dozen or so guards just outside.

"Jaden!?" A couple of voices could be heard down the hall. Jaden turned to see a couple figures coming up the stairwell, breaking into a run when they noticed Jaden and Syrus in the crowd of guards.

"Alexis? Chumley? Is that you?" Jaden squirmed to get a good look, able to make out Chumley's towering figure easily. "Help us get away from these goons!"

"Don't worry Jaden! We'll get you out of there!" Chumley charged at the mess of guards. Three of them repelled Chumley with a synchronized shove, sending Chumley reeling back, almost losing his balance. Alexis stayed just out of the reach of the guards, searching for an opening. "You gotta fight them Jaden! Give us an opening!"

"*Ah* what do ya think *umph* I'm doing?" Jaden squirmed, making things difficult for the guard holding him over his shoulder. Seeing an opportunity, Alexis did a sweeping kick to Jaden's captor, knocking the guard off his feet and landing on his arm, breaking it. Jaden leaped out of the grip from the guard mid-fall, dashing toward his friends, but four more guards were quick to grab him, many hands and elbows striking the young man. Jaden did his best to wiggle free from his attackers, but another trio of guards joining the fray was enough to pull the boy back into their ranks. "Dah, no!' Jaden desperately cried, his strength waning from a storm of blows to his back, ribs and arms.

Chumley replanted himself and charged at the line of security again, but the three guards were waiting to repel him once again with a combined push, sending Chumley tumbling backward and reuniting with the floor face-down.

Alexis uppercutted the left guard on the chin, causing him to stumble. He clumsily put up his hands to try to block, but the assaulting Obelisk struck him repeatedly on the head and stomach, bringing the hapless guard to his knees. The center guard grabbed Alexis by the hair and pulled her off of his wounded partner. The guard then pushed Alexis away with both of his hands to her back, the Obelisk hissing in pain and barely saving herself from falling.

"Guys! Guys!" Jaden cried out, his exclamations fading down the hall as he and Syrus were carried off by what was now a sea of security, the two wounded guards limping close behind to get medical attention.

"What are you two doing?" A voice demanded from behind. Chumley and Alexis turned to see Chancellor Sheppard, standing tall and looking quite cross.

Alexis was clutching the back of her head. "Chancellor! "You can't expel Jaden and Syrus! They were only trying to help me!" "They shouldn't be punished for saving me from grave danger!"

"You knew not to go into that old dorm, and his actions by dueling there put the whole school and the lives of the students in jeopardy!" Sheppard cut Alexis off with his resolved but intimidating voice. "From what you've seen you should be lucky I don't expel you two either!"

Chumley stepped forward, his uniform torn and his face bruised. "Then you should expel me too! Jaden and Syrus are my roommates and best friends, and we told you that Sy wasn't ready for such a difficult duel!"

A stuck-up, grating laugh responded to Chumley's words. Behind Sheppard the spiny-haired Chazz was leaning against the wall with a satisfied grin on his face. "Those two Slifer slackers were lucky to even get a second chance, and they blew it big time! Jaden's little sidekick ruined the whole duel, and that loser doesn't deserve to be in Duel Academy!"

"I'll make you eat those words!" Chumley approached Chazz with fists drawn, but two guards pulled the large kid back, denying the chance to strike. Chumley begrudgingly calmed down, shaking off their hands with a shrug.

Sheppard straightened his burgundy suit and reigned in his anger. "I'm sorry it has to go like this, but rules must be enforced, and Jaden bringing such a...great disturbance to the school can't be allowed." Sheppard spoke with a hint of wary, knowing the dark secret of the dorm could cause all hell to break loose if the rest of academy found out. "I'm warning all of you: you speak at all about the old dorm, instant expulsion. That includes you Princeton!" He suddenly pointed to Chazz, unsettling the Obelisk freshman from his stance. "Is that clear?"

Chumley and Alexis wanted to speak out again, but Sheppard's words and the guards staring down upon them convinced them to drop it. The two could only produce a nod to the chancellor in an eerie silence.

"Alright then, you three are dismissed." The chancellor stood firm and tall like a statue. Taking his cue, the three students hastily skittered past and back down the stairs.

Sheppard retreated to his office and collapsed back onto his chair. He gave a strong exhale before addressing one of the guards. "I want 24/7 surveillance on the old dorm. Nothing, and I mean nothing, gets in or out without my permission."

"Yes sir." the head of the disciplinary squad responded. "And the two expelled kids?"

Sheppard shrugged, finding an answer a bit more difficult. He didn't like expelling students, but the threat of awakening whatever was in that god-forsaken place by dueling could not be tolerated by any stretch.

"Give them until tomorrow morning to pack their things and let them say goodbyes. I want them out of here by 7:30 tomorrow on the next boat out."

The guards bowed and left the room, leaving Sheppard to his own devices.

* * *

There was plenty of commotion among the Slifer Dorm that evening, with all of its inhabitants speaking over the expulsion of their star duelist in a hodgepodge of stances and emotions.

"I heard that losing the duel today got them kicked out. How come none of us knew about that?"

"They were caught in that abandoned dorm, you know no one is allowed there! Jaden and Syrus get what was coming to them if ya ask me!"

"I overheard the Chancellor chew Jade and Sy out. I never heard him so angry before..."

"Where does that leave us? Jaden was our best chance at finally getting our dorm some respect! Now we're the laughing stocks of the whole school!"

Endless streams of questions and remarks over the expulsion of the "Slifer Slacker" were made well into the night, the worn-out dorm having a pretty tense atmosphere of confusion.

The gossip over the events of today didn't help the two Slifers of focus one bit. Syrus was hesitantly packing his belongings, lost in his frantic thoughts that made minutes go on for what seemed like hours. "Is this really happening?" He spoke to himself aloud. "I haven't even been here for a month and my dueling prospects are done!"

Jaden groaned while he picked up his loose clothing he left all around the cabin as consequence of his low-maintenance habits. "Yeah, we both blew it big time when it all mattered!" Jaden replied as cheerful as he could. Syrus only turned away in shame, which made Jaden put the brakes on his cleanup. _"Was that a bit too harsh?"_

After about a minute of uncomfortable silence Jaden moved over to pat his friend's shoulder, which Syrus visibly jerked away from in response. The shorter duelist turned hesitantly to Jaden, his glasses lopsided and his eyes widened.

"Look Sy, we all make mistakes. It's all just part of dueling. Learn from your mistakes and try harder next time!" Jaden spoke with more consolation, his smile enough to get Syrus to liven up a tiny bit.

Syrus gave his partner a light nod out of thanks, and straightened his glasses back up. He was still visibly shaking however. "But bro, we've been kicked out of Duel Academy! Our chances at making it pro are over! "Sh-shouldn't you be more concerned about this?"

"Yeah Jade," Chumley spoke from near the dresser, sorting out his two roommates' stuff as part of the packing. "Not everyone gets to come to this academy, and I doubt anyone else will take you guys in."

Jaden pondered for a few moments and snapped his fingers when his mind connected. "What about the other academies on the continent? Surely they will understand that what I did was a misunderstanding, right?"

Chumley shook his head, half facepalming, half rubbing his forehead. "I don't think expulsion looks very good on your academic records. And it will be awhile till we can petition the chancellor to try to change his mind, and that's a very,very slim bet."

"Well Sheppard can't just leave you two out to dry for something you guys didn't do!" A voice chimed in. The three Slifer 'mates turned to find, of all people, Alexis at their entryway. Outside, dozens of Slifers formed near her, since it was quite rare to have an Obelisk tread in the hive of rejects, and let alone having one of the school's rising stars drop in.

"Me and your friend here spoke to the chancellor and told him what really happened, but he wouldn't listen! I can't just let you guys be kicked out for stopping...whatever was in that old dorm." Alexis finished, her stance stern and determined in resolve.

"I'm Chumley by the way," Chumley duly noted. "and the chancellor looked quite livid over what they...all four of us got into in that dorm. I doubt Sheppard will change his mind quickly, if at all."

Jaden was still pondering over the idea of him and Syrus moving to another dueling school when he had another idea pop in. "How 'bout... we check out that one school up north? Didn't you guys say that they would take in anyone?"

"You mean North Academy?" Chumley corrected. "That place is a real madhouse with the cold and even colder attitudes of the duelists last time I'd been there as part of studies." Chumley shivered at the thought of going back up there again.

"And I heard that they were in financial straits, that they would take pretty much anyone at this point to get attention." Alexis added. "I don't know much else outside of the news though."

"Well does it have duelists? Count me in if they're willing to take anyone eager to throw down!" The young man spoke with increasing excitement, a sharp contrast to the melancholy that filled the room.

Jaden nudged Syrus' shoulder, the short boy practically invisible throughout the whole exchange and left to his own thoughts. "What do ya say Sy? Think we can make it to North Academy? Wherever that is."

Syrus gulped before replying "Umm, I don't think my parents are gonna take me getting kicked out of Duel Academy well enough to let me follow you there. I may not even see you again after we head back to Domino." Syrus slowed his last few words, the prospect of leaving his best friend sinking in. The idea that he would have to part ways with his academy friends slammed his brain, and he could only curl up and tear up at the thought.

Jaden placed his hand on Syrus' back, doing his best to calm him down, but Syrus broke down into sobs again, digging his hands into his half-packed clothes in a fit of frustration and anger.

"Don't fret Sy," Jaden comforted. "I'm sure the other academies will understand that it was a misunderstanding!". Jaden's response was met with uneasy silence from Chumley and Alexis, with Syrus' weeps and high-pitched wails filling the room. The three other students in the room felt the atmosphere was very uncomfortable, but none of them had the will to speak up.

The proceedings were interrupted by the arrival of campus security, a couple guards sifting through the crowd of students. "Hey! No visitors for the expelled!" A guard shouted toward Alexis. The shout made Syrus clam up in surprise. "You need to leave unless you want to get in serious trouble."

Alexis sighed, partly in anger, partly in relief that the heavy atmosphere was broken. "I'll see you guys tomorrow morning then." Was all she replied before she was lead out by one of the guards.

"Hold on 'Lex," Jaden started to say in Alexis' direction, but he was only met with the stern, intimidating gaze of the remaining guard. "You guys need to be up at 7:00 tomorrow to get your stuff on the next boat out. We'll be waiting outside by then," The guard approached Jaden, appearing quite confrontational compared to Jaden's lax stance. "And don't make us come get you." The guard pointed a finger at Jaden for emphasis, knowing too well that the Slifer Slacker was not a very punctual student.

Jaden remained still, looking with curiosity at the guard. Syrus turned hesitantly toward the intruder, the bluenette's face a sobbing mess with tears and snot dripping from his face.

The guard never broke his stalwart frown. "7' sharp boys. G'night." With that the man exited the room. Jaden stuck his tongue out at him as he left.

"Well that was quite a harsh going-away party." Jaden kept his demeanor bright. "They didn't even let me say goodbye to Alex!"

"That's the disciplinary guard for ya." Chumley replied. "You best be there sharp as well, you REALLY don't want to piss them off..." Chumley shuddered, as if he had experience with such an event before. "Best that we finish this packing."

"Oh, right." Jaden perked up. "Syrus, can ya help me get these clothes packed in?" He turned toward Syrus's bunk only to find it empty. The click of a door to the outside got his attention. Jaden and Chumley turned to see Syrus make his way out the door.

"Sy? Where are you going?" Jaden called.

"Give me 5 minutes Jay. I need some time to calm down." Syrus trembled a bit in his voice.

"Alright, don't get in trouble with the guards huh?" Jaden joked, met with only silence from Syrus as he left the room.

"Can't you give Syrus a break Jaden?" Chumley asked Jaden once he was sure Syrus was out of earshot. "He really feels bad about losing that tag duel."

"Really? I told him it was nothing to worry about..." Jaden scratched his head confused.

"Sy really felt that his mistake cost you guys the duel, and your right to stay at the academy. And not everyone can keep their head held high all the time like you can Jade. He feels really bad about letting you and the dorm down." Chumley gulped. "So I wouldn't bring it up to him that much. At least 'till he has time to come to grips with what happened."

"He really thinks that way?" Jaden returned with surprise. "He doesn't need to beat himself up over it..."

"Well you're his best friend, so getting his best friend kicked out probably had a crushing impact on him." Chumley stood up to speak face-to-face with Jaden. "And I can't see him like that either. So please, don't badger him about it? For both me and Sy." Chumley asked his friend with sincerity.

Chumley's words made Jaden pause for awhile. The wonder rookie stood with eyes widened in a daze, leaving Chumley to wonder what thoughts were circling about in his head.

Jaden closed his eyes and took a deep breath before replying. "Okay, I won't hound him out. For both..for all three of us." He held a hand out to Chumley for a handshake. Chumley took the offer and sealed their agreement. "Thanks Jay." Chumley cracked a small smile, which Jaden returned.

"Now, time to get these clothes packed." Jaden restarted with his light-hearted demeanor. "Be a pal and help me while Sy is out?"

"Sure." Chumley answered, with less concern than before.

* * *

Syrus leaned on the railing of the dorm's outer walkway, facing the ocean. The night fog had rolled in, making the view pretty short past the dimly-lit road along the cliffs. Syrus fought off shivers of the coming sea breeze as he peered blankly out into the night, thoughts forming in his head more concisely than before.

"_After that screw up, Jaden is still so bubbly and energetic as ever. I wish I had his determination."_ Syrus pondered through the past few days: Jaden had the guts to challenge the king of the ring to a duel, and got served his first loss, all for Syrus's sake. _"Shows the kind of friend I am."_ Syrus cynically chuckled to himself.

He fumbled through his red coat and pulled out a card from it: "Power Bond", the card that supposedly helped his strategy. The card that Jaden pressured him to play. The card that his older brother said he was far from ready to use, all of those events around this one piece of paperboard.

Syrus shook his head._"Damn it! Zane was right! I wasn't ready to use this, and look what that got me!"_ Syrus clenched his teeth in building anger, his fingers threatening to tear the rare card apart in their grip.

Soon enough his anger spilled over, and Syrus chucked the card off the walkway. The little square flicked about in the air as it swayed down to Earth, only for the wind to pick it up and lift it further and further away. The card quickly got lost to the naked eye, devoured by the dark gray fog not too far beyond.

Syrus gripped the metal rail and shook it in frustration. He had the card on loan from his brother, but he didn't care in the slightest what happened to it at this point. Syrus held back breaking down again, his rage muting it out.

He took a few deep breaths of night breeze which helped cool him down, enough to think clearly again._"So much for trying to follow my brother to duel in the pros.."_ Syrus grunted, doing his best to cool down and not make another scene. A couple passing Slifer students gave brief glances, but they left him alone to regain his composure.

Syrus's peace lasted for about 10 minutes until it was interrupted by Jaden's voice, coming from a door leading back inside. "Hey Sy, you alright over there?" He asked.

Syrus readjusted his glasses, putting up a fake smile. "Yeah Jade, a bit better." He made his way to the door, slowing as he passed Jaden. "Let's go get ready for tomorrow."

Jaden raised an eyebrow as Syrus passed, but he brushed it aside. "Sure thing Syrus. Lets get to it." He replied with assurance. The two made their way back to their room, where the three roommates chatted and were somehow able to brave Jaden's pigsty to get everything packed.

* * *

There was an atmosphere of unrest in the room that night, and even past curfew there was a sense of activity in the Slifer dorm amidst the unlit halls.

Chumley and Syrus were lost in thought, staring up blankly as their minds were doing overtime. Even Jaden, who normally fell asleep as soon as he hit the hay, was tossing and turning for awhile before drifting off to slumber. Chumley fell asleep soon after, since he hadn't properly slept since his dad came over to try and pluck him from Duel Academy.

Syrus was playing the last few days back in his head over and over again, trying to find choices that would have history play differently. He then reminisced on his days at the academy he was parting: When he first met Jaden at the entry tests. When he got caught sneaking into the Obelisk Girl's dorm. When he and his buds told ghost stories to pass the colder nights. When he was caught in death's grip at the hands of Titan and lived to tell the tale. He hadn't been at Duel Academy for very long, but in his short time he faced a variety of challenges and sensations, met many interesting characters, and forged 2 strong friendships as a result. It made the sting of leaving it all behind all the more jarring for the young duelist, like everything suddenly felt empty.

"_It's been quite a wild ride. Darn shame that it had to end so soon."_ Syrus's thoughts read plain as day to him. _"Nothing I can do about it now..."_

Syrus's mind slowly wound down after that, and soon enough he too slipped into an uneasy sleep.

* * *

The following morning was a typical brisk, gloomy affair, as the Sun was barely cracking the horizon, yet to burn the fog back out to sea. As it was a Saturday morning there was little foot traffic along the path to the harbor.

Jaden, Syrus, and Chumley brought several bags of belongings with them across the bridge with an escort of guards to keep them in check. Syrus proceeded with little fuss, and Jaden was chatting with Chumley a couple steps ahead.

"You know how to get to North Academy Chums?" Jaden inquired, carrying all of his stuff on his back.

"I have no clue," Chumley shook his head. "Plus we need to sort out this current mess we're in." Chumley shook his fist in frustration.

"You'll keep in touch with us right?" Jaden replied.

"By email, yeah. I don't want any long-distance calls." Chumley chuckled. "Though we'll need to in case we need anything from you and Sy to get you guys back here where you belong."

Syrus perked up at mention of his name, and added to the conversation. "I dunno when we'll be in touch, and what will our parents think of this?" Syrus chilled at the thought, praying that such an event would not come soon.

"Well my folks are always out on business trips, so I have my hands open for awhile." Jaden recalled, pointing his own finger against his chin. "Annnnd the trip back is slow by boat." He groaned upon the realization. "Just what I needed when I have to miss sleeping in."

The trio made it to the piers at the end of the docking area. Only two boats were docked, and the guards nudged them toward the faded white passenger ferry on the left.

"Hold the phone!" Jaden stopped his friends by the arm upon spotting something. From another pier Alexis approached while waving her hand to get their attention. "Hey 'Lex!" Jaden waved back, pushing a guard aside to get closer.

"I told you guys I'd make it." Alexis answered calmly. "I couldn't miss saying goodbye to the guy who saved me a few nights ago." She chuckled, to which the awestruck Syrus could only blush and hide behind Chumley.

"Eh, don't mention it! That's what friends do right?" Jaden tapped her on the shoulder, the meaning of her words flying right over his head much to her and Chumley's chagrin. "It's a shame we have to go, you're quite the duelist to throw down with!"

Alexis fought off her own blush. "Well thank you!" She changed the subject. "Don't worry, you two won't be expelled for long! We'll get this sorted out!" She said with more determination than worry this time.

"It will be a long time before Sheppard will even think of changing his mind." A voice chimed in from behind. The crowd turned to find Bastion emerge from behind one of the massive warehouses that dot the harbor. He approached Jaden and handed him a slip of paper. "Some email addresses from the guys at Ra Yellow. You seem to have attracted a bit of a following there!" He laughed.

"Oh, thanks Bastion!" Jaden stuffed the paper into a pocket in his jacket. "I didn't think I was that popular!" He laughed in response.

"Well keep us posted on how things are going if you can." Bastion continued. "It's weird seeing "Duel Academy's Number 1" leaving so soon, and I won't lie: I will miss having you around."

"Aw, I'll miss you too buddy." Jaden said more reassuringly. "I'll miss all you guys."

Jaden wrapped his arms around whoever he could, grabbing Chumley and Syrus with one arm and Alexis and Bastion with the other, pulling them into a group hug. Everyone except Jaden grunted as they were squeezed together, Syrus feeling like he would suffocate when pressed between Jaden and Chumley.

The group stood there in embrace for about a minute, when one of the guards tapped Jaden on the shoulder. "Alright, break it up, we're leaving now." He commanded,"We got to get your stuff on board."

The group begrudgingly parted, save for Syrus who remained glued to Chumley. "*umpf* I'll miss you too Sy, but can ya loosen your grip a bit?" Syrus reluctantly pulled off of his friend, growing a little teary-eyed again.

Jaden and Syrus gathered their luggage at the motions of the guards. Alexis was still a bit struck by the embrace, and Bastion stretched his back in ache. Jaden pointed at the duo. "Now while I'm gone you guys don't stop pushing for the top, alright?" He requested.

"You bet!" Alexis snapped in reply, almost on instinct, to her surprise.

"You can count on it." Bastion spoke with more reserve. "Just don't expect an easy time when you two get back!"

"I won't be expecting any Bastion!" Jaden smiled.

With that, the three Slifers made their way up the dock to the boat. Jaden acted like he was about to get on a cruise, while his friends were a bit more somber in attitude.

The three stopped right before the onramp. Chumley had some trouble forming the will to speak. "I... I wish you two the best of luck." He spurted out.

Jaden put a hand on Chumley's shoulder. "We'll be fine. We won't be gone for long." He said with a reassuring gaze in his eyes. The three Slifers embraced one last time, and reluctantly parted.

Jaden and Syrus clumsily walked up the ramp with their luggage. Jaden waved to Alexis and Bastion one more time, Syrus only offering a gaze and a faint smile to them that they probably couldn't see. Bastion waved back, Alexis not breaking her dull stance as she watched the two Slifers disappear into the ship's deck.

The ship shifted with a loud creak as it detached from the dock. Without sounding the horn it slowly made its way out of port, shifting in the gray water as it accelerated.

Only Chumley stood on the platform as the guards made their way back to land. A few of the guards yawned and chatted about getting breakfast, their task done and already forgotten. The boat quickly faded into the fog as it made its way out to sea, the wake of the vessel dispersing just as fast.

Bastion turned to Alexis. "So, I'll see you in class Monday?" He replied. His words met no response, Alexis still staring out to sea.

"...I'll see ya around then." Bastion finished. He gently bowed and left.

Alexis was at a loss for words for what felt like an hour. Chumley still stared from dock out in the direction of the boat, looking quite lonesome without his two comrades in red by his side.

Alexis sighed, and silently retreated from the docks. Chumley still stood there, the crashing of waves against the dock and the cawing of seagulls the only sounds to be heard as the Sun started to pull back the fog to announce the new day.

* * *

By 08:00 a few students were up and about. The Sun was up to relieve the clear blue sky from the gloomy fog. Some Slifer and Ra students were on the dirt path along the cliffs to the main building. Passerby ranged from joggers to wetsuit-donned students heading to the beach to friends and staff just having friendly gossip.

One figure stood out in this environment, his piercing stare and senior white uniform causing other students to keep their distance. He didn't speak, he didn't even turn to face any passerby, he just stood there unflinching, looking out to sea. He could briefly make out the trail of a small boat heading northward up toward mainland Japan, the trip a good 5-6 hours long he last recalled.

He spotted out of the corner of his eye a small brown rectangle in the grass, flopping in the breeze. He steadily approached it, and he could make it out as a card.

He reached down and plucked it from the grass, the moist blades not feeling good against his bare hand. He wiped some dew off to read the card. It was "Power Bond", the edges stained with dirt and moisture and the front of it bearing indents and slight tears from what looked like fingernails.

He shook his head in annoyance. _"I let him borrow it and this is what happens. Totally asked for it."_ He thought to himself, feeling lucky that his precious card didn't get blown into the ocean. He looked one last time out to sea. The boat was out of view, and with it, his brother, and his friend that gave him quite a duel the other day, was gone.

Without a word, Zane left the cliffs back towards the Obelisk dorm. Anyone who gazed out may have caught a brief glimpse of shining metal on the horizon before it faded into the endless blue.


	2. The Long Haul

_Here is the second chapter of "Kicked up North". Thank you all for the feedback for the first chapter! _

_This chapter was originally longer, but the 2nd half of this chapter will become chapter 3 after the idea was suggested by my beta, ScarletLycrois. I'd like to thank Scarlet for being beta for this chapter, and she's requested this note for the Author's Note:  
_

(B/N: Hey everyone it's ScarletLycrois here, I helped Beta this chapter so if there are any mistakes you guys can blame me! I'm also the cause of this chapter's delay so my apologies about that! ''^_^)

_With that, here is chapter 2! Thanks for being patient and enjoy!_

_I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX or the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game. All copyrights and trademarks go to their respective owners._

* * *

When students make the journey from Domino City to the famous Academy tucked away in the Pacific, the passenger ferry was usually full of chatter. The older students took the time to reunite with their friends and sharpen their skills on flimsy duel mats, while the freshmen bubbled with excitement and tried to find someone to pass the time with in conversation. The journey was agonizingly long to a bunch of kids and teenagers, but each trip at the start and end of the year was certainly a fun and bustling time.

It was a stark contrast to the solemn atmosphere of the same boat that the two expelled students unceremoniously had to take back to the main islands. The ferry was running a skeleton crew that brought cargo to and from Duel Academy in place of a normal cargo ship, so they were not expecting to take some guests aboard.

Syrus took refuge on the ship's stern, gazing out to sea. There was no sign of land nor any other vessels to be seen, and to him the plain, empty blue was fitting to how he felt at that moment. He no longer had classes and homework to worry about now that he was out of the Academy's hair, but even with that solace he still felt hollow and without purpose.

Meanwhile, Jaden was pacing about the ship, antsy about having nothing to do on-board. "Ugh, I hate this trip! This thing is supposed to be a party wagon!" He said without a hint of irony, to which the annoyed ship worker he was talking to shrugged him off. He checked his deck whenever he passed by his luggage, and he had adjusted it at least 30 times in the first hour alone. He offered to chat with Syrus earlier, but the bluenette pushed him away, not in the mood for Jaden's antics.

"_I'd like some alone time Jay, to think about some things. No offense." Jaden pouted and was about to pester him, until Chumley's advice ringed in his head. Jaden reluctantly nodded and left Syrus to his own self-reflection. _

Despite giving his friend some space, Jaden did stop and stare at Syrus whenever he passed by the stern of the ship. The short kid's blue hair was dampened from the salty spray, but he didn't seem to notice, too lost in his thoughts and concerns to care. The scene made Jaden irksome. If anything got the fun-loving Jaden riled the wrong way, it was seeing a friend in distress or sorrow. Jaden's spirit partner appeared from his deck, the fur-ball buzzing around Jaden's head to see what was wrong.

"Oh, hey there buddy." Jaden scratched the little monster's chin. "I don't like this either, I wish I could help somehow..." 'Winged Kuriboh' whined like a nervous dog, looking at Syrus with concern as well.

Jaden rested his head against a wall inside the ship, giving his body a brief reprieve from doing countless laps around the rickety ship. Syrus glanced at Jaden, his view somewhat obscured by his own Easter-egg hair, before turning back towards the ocean.

Jaden readjusted his jacket before deciding to take it off, feeling hot from running around the ship. _"I know Chumley said to let Sy sort things out in his head, but I can't stand seeing him tear himself apart!"_ Jaden took another deep breath to cool his jets, Kuriboh patting his head for moral support._"I'll ask him about North Academy when we hit land. That should be enough time!"_ Jaden clenched his fist, his resolve reignited.

A grumble of his stomach followed right after. _"But after we get some lunch. I really wish the snack bar was running here like last time!"_ He shook his head in annoyance, before he slipped off to try to find any food to scrounge.

* * *

It was an hour or so past noon when the ferry reached Domino City. Due to the exploits of famous duelists like Yugi Muto and Seto Kaiba bringing _Duel Monsters_ to national fame only a few years ago, the city was packed full of visitors on the weekends. Jaden and Syrus were booted off the ferry and thrown into the sea of passer-by with not even a farewell from the crew.

Before he could ask what they should do next, Syrus was being dragged off by Jaden to find the nearest source of food, the brunette's speed increasing with each rumble of his stomach. The pair found a fast food joint, the first thing Jaden came across on the streets of Domino. "Aww, a long line!" Jaden stamped his foot in impatience upon noticing the queue stretch out the front door. Syrus, a bit strained from sprinting while carrying pounds and pounds of luggage on his back, shuffled in through the door beet red from exertion.

"I'll get our lunch." Jaden shook in place in impatience. While Jaden took a spot in line Syrus made his way to an empty booth, dropping the bags in front of it before slouching into a seat in relief.

About 30 minutes later Jaden reached the booth carrying half a dozen burgers all wrapped up. Syrus raised an eyebrow. "Um, Jaden? You expect to eat all of those?"

"Help yourself Sy! On me!" Jaden replied, his hand already reaching for the first sandwich. Jaden kept quiet about his family, but he seemed to be pretty financially secure judging by how much money he spends on trading cards. To Syrus, and many others, the lack of knowledge of Jaden's normal life made the strange brunette seem a bit mysterious.

"Oh, well thanks Jay-" Syrus started, but Jaden already started scarfing down sandwich after sandwich. Syrus quickly grabbed a burger, knowing from shrimp shortages at the Slifer dorm that Jaden's appetite would knock down this buffet in short order.

Syrus was only half done with his sandwich by the time Jaden finished his meal, Syrus' appetite a bit low despite skimping on breakfast that morning.

"Now that hit the spot!" Jaden exhaled, pawing the table for a napkin. Syrus paused at Jaden's outburst, then quietly resumed eating.

"Now, time for a plan." Jaden sifted aside loose wrappers and pulled out a thin, crumpled-up map from his pant pocket. It looked like it fell in a vat of clam chower and that it hasn't been opened in months. "First, where is ol' North Academy?" Jaden stuck a finger up, ready to point on the map with great emphasis. After holding said pose for a minute Jaden threw his arms up in defeat "...where is North Academy anyway? How can I throw down if I can't find the darn place?"

Syrus looked at the map and noticed something on the top-right corner of it smudged in grime. He scratched it aside to find a small dot with "North Academy" above it, on a peninsula a ways northeast of Japan's home islands. "Its there, all the way up past Hokkaido. I can see why Chumley didn't want to go back up there." He finished, his friend's words from last night still fresh in his mind.

"Sweet! Let's get over there pronto!" He just about jumped out of his seat.

"But Jaden, it's up in Russia, and I thought you lost your passport." Syrus tried to remember which bags he put his legal documents in. "And it's a good half a day away just to get to Hokkaido." Syrus found the mere prospect of such a journey daunting, into a country he had never been to. "The weather is probably not very pleasant this time of year either..."

"Eh, the cold doesn't bother me one bit! I was getting tired of the foggy mornings anyway. To think I would get sick of the beach!" Jaden fondled through his bag, searching for his passport. "Though not being allowed up there would be a real bummer. We can pop by my place to get it if I left it there."

Syrus stared down at the table. "I gotta call my folks Jay, and truth be told, they're not gonna be happy about me getting kicked out of school..."

"They can wait can't they? You said they were gonna be in Brazil for-"

"Jaden, don't you get it?" Syrus suddenly snapped, shutting Jaden up. "We both got kicked out of the best dueling school in the country, if not the world! You think our parents are gonna take spending so much time and money to get us there well when they find that we totally squandered it? No!" Syrus smacked the table, his outburst causing most of the restaurant to take notice.

"And..." Syrus gulped, his voice lowered. "...I won't ever see you again." Tears started to drip down from the kid's face. "I-I don't wanna leave ya Jay, not without making up getting you kicked out, I can't stand that!" Syrus's lip quivered, distorting his voice as the young boy broke into a quivering ball of tears.

Jaden leaned forward and put his hand on Syrus's shoulder. "Sy, Sy, it's alright." Jaden consoled his friend with pats on the shoulder. "Look at me Sy."

Syrus gazed up, barely able to see his partner through his tear-flooded eyes. "B-b-but-"

"Sy, what's done is done. We lost the duel and got caught in a big misunderstanding. You won't get far if you wallow in your mistakes. And I can't be mad at you when you did your best. Not in a million years."

Jaden squeezed his friend's shoulder. "So please, don't tear yourself apart over it. Please, I can't stand to see you like this."

Syrus was left in awe. He knew Jaden was a good friend, but he never saw him so assuring. Jaden was the kind of guy that would never let his friends nor his enemies down, the kind who would stop at nothing to get even a sobbing wreck like himself back on his feet. The way Jaden was so concise and determined in his tone proved that Jaden would never turn against him, that he will always be willing to help his friends out through any storm.

"u-okay. I won't." Syrus rasped through his tightened mouth, struggling to speak. "For your- for our sake."

Jaden gave a short, perky smile, drawing a "da'ww" or two from nearby patrons. Syrus fumbled for a napkin to clean himself up, wiping off the tear streaks from his face and the drops stuck to his glasses. Syrus returned the smile. He still felt his mistake hang over him like a storm cloud, but for the moment he didn't care in the slightest.

Jaden sat up, "Now, how 'bout we give North Academy a shot? I know you got more than a weeks time, plenty of time to get that far north." He offered his hand down to his partner. "What do ya say?"

Syrus looked up at Jaden, the shorter ex-Slifer taken aback a bit. "I-I guess it won't hurt to look." Syrus stuttered. He took his partner's hand and was lifted up. "I'll go with ya Jade." Syrus's voice was more concise.

"Alright! Two best friends going on a trip!" Jaden practically jumped in place, accidentally knocking over his bags across the floor. "Woah! As soon as we clean up here first!" He laughed, before he scrambled to grab his luggage. Syrus helped him gather their belongings and threw out their trash, before dashing out of the fast food joint as quickly as they came.

* * *

The pair's funds combined was enough for the whole trip, but a long series of connections and sprinting across train stations awaited them on the trek across Japan. It didn't faze Jaden in the slightest, leading the way through the train station while his friend was struggling to keep up. Even with all of his belongings on his back Jaden sped through crowds of people in a jangle of luggage, his eyes scanning the overhead signs to find out where to go.

Even with their breakneck pace, the two almost missed their first train. The sprint across the station left Syrus drenched in sweat and gasping for air when he made it to his partner's side. "You had to book the tightest schedule possible didn't you?" He cursed through his panting as he stepped on-board after Jaden.

"I haven't broken a sweat!" Jaden exclaimed, the boy in a scramble to shove his bags into the overhead compartment as fast as he could. Other passengers looked at Jaden like he drank way too much coffee this morning as the strange young man bounced toward his seat. Syrus groggily put his bags in after a couple other passengers, before taking his seat next to Jaden.

By the time Syrus caught his breath the doors were closed and the train was on its way. "Urgh, this is our first train and I'm already worn out.." Syrus groaned under his breath.

Jaden bopped him on the upper arm. "Well we're just getting started! I can go all day!" Jaden punched the seat in front of him like a boxer, drawing the shouts of a disgruntled businessman from the other side. "Uwah, sorry man!" Jaden apologized, which met only grumbles from the row in front. "Heh, this is already more fun than the boat ride!"

"Can we at least not get thrown off the train Jay? We won't make it to Sapporo in time if we take any detours." Syrus pulled out a train map he nabbed at the terminal, using a pen to circle which train lines to take for the trip.

"Sapporo? I thought we were heading straight to Russia!" Jaden leaned right into his friend's personal space to get a look at the map.

"The train line doesn't go straight to North Academy. We gotta take a flight over to Russia, and it doesn't run at night, so we'll have to rest at a hotel until morning."

"Ahhh, I can't wait any longer! I wanna get there now!" Jaden rustled about in his seat, causing a passenger behind him to throw a pillow in their direction. 'Winged Kuriboh' pat his human partner on the head, the spirit able to feel the heat coming off of Jaden's body from his exertion.

"_It's gonna be a long day..."_ Syrus sighed, looking out the window to see Domino City fade off into the distance.

The hours ticked by for the duo as they made their way up to Hokkaido. Even when riding the fast _Shinkansen_ bullet train the journey up the main islands was a long one, one with many connectors that would leave them stranded for hours if the two boys missed even one train.

The two boys got bored pretty quickly merely gazing at the passing scenery, the pattern of concrete mazes giving way to withered winter trees and back again repetitive enough to make most people lose interest after awhile.

Jaden finally had it, and got up to get his bag. Syrus could hear his own bag being opened as well.

"What are you doing with my bags again Jay? That's the third time you looked up there today!"

Jaden replied by shoving a small box down to Syrus. Syrus' deck box.

"Gotta sharpen our skills for when we reach North Academy right?" Jaden descended back into his seat with that signature grin on his face. "Desperate or not, I doubt they will let us in without a fight!"

Syrus reluctantly reached for his own deck box. As much as Syrus wanted to have a break from dueling, every official academy had mandatory entrance exams, and it dawned on Syrus that he would have to suck it up and get back to practicing if he wanted a fighting chance to get into North Academy.

"Oh, right." Syrus finally answered. "We should probably get a few practice duels in then." Syrus started to pull out cards from the box, tossing a few cards onto his lowered seat tray, only to frown at a realization. "Jade, there's not enough room for a duel mat, and we're not even facing eachother."

"We can manage this! Anywhere is good enough to throw down!" Jaden tapped his partner's side with his own deck, having already set his side of the field up and his cards shuffled. "How 'bout we start best of three, 4000 each? We've got plenty of time to burn!"

Syrus nodded and took Jaden's deck to cut it, before handing it back so he could finish setting up his end of the field. Soon both players had their fields assembled and were ready to play.

"Alright, get your game on Sy, cause I ain't holding back!"

* * *

Time started to fly by once the two boys got occupied with their exhibition match. Jaden had the clear advantage right from the opening of the first duel, but Syrus did his best to put up a fight with his comical machines against Jaden's powerful E-Heroes. Jaden won the first duel more quickly than Syrus would've thought thanks to a new card that Jaden was testing.

"What? A card that can bring out your 'Bladedge' without cost?" Syrus complained. "Where did you get this, 'Necroshade' card?"

"It was a gift from Ms. Dorothy for my birthday." Jaden scratched an itch on his head. "Said it was one of the first ten printed too!"

"Man, you always get the coolest cards for those Heroes! It's been "Hero Overload" the past few sets, like the card makers worship you or something..."

"They must be comic book fans over there! At least they stopped with those old wizards and dragons for a bit!" Jaden laughed, to the annoyance of the same man of the seat in front.

Syrus couldn't help but chuckle with him. He was actually starting to have fun and not treat the duel like another training exercise. It wasn't with fancy computer systems projecting jaw-dropping images and sounds from a heavy duel disk, but he was glad that he was playing with no high stakes involved for once: No shadow games, no big matches in front of the whole school, just a casual spar with his best friend.

For the second duel Jaden opened with 'Fusion Gate' to bring out 'Elemental Hero Mudballman' to stall for a better draw. Syrus got a strong opening by using "Shield Crush" on the defending 'Mudballman', then by getting 'Steam Gyroid' out thanks to Jaden's 'Fusion Gate' for a direct attack. Since Jaden's strategy mainly involved fusions as main priority, Syrus thought that getting a free ride from his opponent's card was a golden opportunity. And against Jaden, the bluenette knew he needed all the help he can get if he wanted to win against such a well-attuned duelist and deck.

Syrus was proven right on Jaden's turn. Jaden brought his 'Thunder Giant' as well as his signature card, 'Flame Wingman', after getting lucky with 'Pot of Greed'. 'Thunder Giant' took out 'Steam Gyroid' with its effect, clearing the way for a powerful pair of attacks. Luckily Syrus played his set 'Negate Attack' to end the Battle Phase before damage could be done, preventing a quick loss.

Syrus found himself back on the defensive. He used a 'Block Attack' + 'Drillroid' combo to make quick work of 'Thunder Giant' on his turn, but Jaden soon had 'Wildheart' summoned as backup for 'Wingman'. Syrus was lucky to draw to his second 'Gyroid' to defend, his monsters fell in short order to the Heroes' relentless assault.

"_Running out of options here. Come on Syrus, think..."_ He gritted his teeth, trying to find a way to turn the duel back around. He had two 'Cycroid's ready to be fused for a direct attack, but the resulting monster wasn't strong enough to end the duel then and there.

"Looks like this match is mine Sy." Jaden proclaimed, not wanting hard feelings. "At least you fought well and hard."

Syrus drew his next card and his eyes lit up. "Don't be so sure yet! After all it's 'till the last card is played, right?"

"I'll start by using 'Fusion Gate' to fuse two 'Cycroid's from my hand to summon 'Pair Cycroid'! And then I use my 'Heavy Storm' to clear out your face-downs!"

"Hmm, not bad." Jaden commented. "...But you still got my Heroes to deal with!"

"Not necessarily Jay!" Syrus replied, to which Jaden looked with bewilderment.

"I set two cards face down then play 'Mage Power'! This gives my 'Pair Cycroid' 500 ATK for each Spell and Trap on my field for 3100 ATK!"

Jaden gulped. "That's enough to beat 'Flame Wingman'..."

"Who said I was attacking your monsters? 'Pair Cycroid' can attack you directly!" Syrus imagined the little scarlet tandem bike jumping high over Jaden's line of monsters and striking the duelist behind with its comical fists. With a 2600 ATK direct attack, coupled with 'Steam Gyroid' 's early success, Syrus was victorious.

"Yes! I did it!" Syrus shouted, breaking the silence of the cabin. He noticed eyes of many passengers looking at him in confusion and annoyance. The stone-cold glares made Syrus sink back into his seat in embarrassment.

Jaden pulled the startled Syrus over to his seat. "That was great! That's the Sy I know and love!" He snuggled his friend a bit against his scruffy jacket. "I take it you're feeling better now?"

Syrus visibly exhaled against his partner. "A little bit better, I think." He sat up and brushed some wrinkles off of his jacket. "Thanks Jay."

"Anything for my best friend." Jaden replied with an assuring smile. "That makes three losses in two weeks huh?" Jaden chuckled. "Maybe I need the practice more than you do."

"No, I still think you are the better duelist by a mile." Syrus said plainly. "I still have a long way to go before I'm ready for North Academy, should we even get in." He sulked a little. The pair still haven't figured out just how to get into North Academy. In the back of his mind Syrus knew that expulsion would not spell well for an attempted transfer.

"Ah, we can take 'em!" Jaden answered. "We may be "Slifer Slackers" but I'm sure we'd have a fighting chance!"

Jaden shuffled his spent cards back into his decks for the next round. "Now, how about another duel or three? Gotta break this tie!"

Syrus followed suit with setting up his field, pushing dark thoughts to the side for now. "You bet, gotta get some more practice in. Let's duel!"

* * *

Time seemed to fly by much faster for the duo once they got preoccupied in their practice duels. Jaden dominated the field most of the time with his E-Heroes, but Syrus pressed on, sharpening his skills with each match-up. They had to stop whenever the train reached the station, to Jaden's annoyance. By the third time they had to stop to get moving to or from a train Jaden decided that he'd carry his field and cards over to the nearest table, the brunette resorting to carrying his luggage with his mouth when his hands were full.

Hours ticked by, the process becoming routine: get on train, toss bags on the overhead, resume duel, get snacks if its a long trek, stop duel, get bags, get off, head to the next terminal. In Nagoya the two had time to book a motel for the night and a flight for tomorrow. During dinner at a cafe two kids came up to the duo, recognizing their crimson jackets that they were academy students. Jaden and Syrus took time to tell the youngster what it was like going to Duel Academy, which got the kids listening with envy. The two Slifers gave dueling tips and tricks to the kids, and Jaden even gave away two of his spare cards to them as a parting gift.

It was late at night by the time the two Slifers made it to Sapporo. Jaden counted thirty-five wins to Syrus's thirteen on a sheet of scratch paper, to which Syrus groaned, having gotten sick of dueling for the day. The two stepped out of Sapporo Station into the freezing night air, their Academy jackets not offering much in the way of warmth. The two hastily hailed a cab to take them to their hotel, not wanting to be stuck out in the frigid, empty streets half-asleep for very long.

The two reached the small motel on the outskirts of town after a 40 minute drive. Snow started to fall as the duelists unloaded their bags from the top of the cab, making the freezing night even colder for the worn-out young men. The building's exterior was made of worn, unpainted concrete, as if it was restored from a bombed out bunker. Inside was more welcoming; although no one was in the lobby, it was adorned with wooden walls illuminated by warm yellow lights. Jaden waited for a single worker to return to the desk who checked the two Slifers in. The attendant quickly left after handing them their room key, so the two boys had to drag their luggage up two floors and down the hall without any help from the staff.

Their room was basic in design: the walls were mostly beige save for a tile-walled bathroom next to the front door. The only furniture was two futons, a low table, and a small TV in the far corner. To Jaden it was the most welcoming site all day, the Slifer dropping his bags at the door and was face-down on the futon, not bothering to take his shoes off at the entryway.. Syrus settled his bags near the TV and took a seat at his own bed.

"Man," Jaden spoke through a yawn, "The day went on a bit too long for me Sy."

"It may be even longer tomorrow Jay," Syrus took off his jacket and tossed it on top of his bags, the smaller boy shivering, finding the room pretty brisk as well. "*huff*, and colder too."

Jaden stretched his arms back and his legs out, too tired to care about his jacket or the cold. "At least we can sleep in tomorrow right?" Jaden turned to face Syrus. Syrus was looking through his spare cell phone to check his email, having had to give up his Academy PDA when he was expelled. Syrus grumbled when he found that the signal was completely dead, and put it aside.

"That reminds me Sy, shouldn't we email Chum that we made it? They haven't heard from us all day." Jaden fumbled through his jacket, trying to find his own PDA.

"I got no signal in here." Syrus gave up on acquiring a signal and set his phone aside. "Plus I don't think anyone at Academy would be up at this hour."

Jaden wrestled his PDA free from his jacket. It was a hand-me-down Academy-issue one with a battery cover that wouldn't close and a large crack that covered most of the screen. The condition was bad enough that the Academy let Jaden keep the piece of junk.

"Darn, I guess we'll have to email him in the morning then." He tossed his PDA onto the table, not too concerned of the device's condition. 'Winged Kuriboh' nestled on Jaden's chest, the little creature earning some petting and scratching on the back of its wings by its human partner. "I know it's been a long day for you too buddy, but we'll be among more of your friends tomorrow alright?" Jaden comforted his little sidekick.

Syrus noticed Jaden talking to what looked like thin air to a stranger, but Syrus knew that Jaden's spirit partner was there again. He couldn't see it, but he knew through Jaden that he had such an accomplice with him.

Syrus got up to get his phone charger from his bags, not caring to change into his pjamas tonight. He brushed his own arms to try to warm up before resuming conversation. "Jay, I'm still afraid that North Academy won't even look at us for being expelled already. How can you be so sure that they will let us in?"

Jaden gave a lazy smile, still petting his invisible friend. "Chum said the Academy was short of people right? I think they would take any joe-shmoe that can pass the entrance exam, so I think we got good chances." Jaden tried to fight off another yawn.

"I know Jay, but we've never been there before, so I feel that they won't like us Main Academy guys that much-" Syrus turned to find Jaden on his side and motionless. "...Jay? Jay?" Syrus approached and nudged his partner.

Jaden awoke with a snort. "Oh! Sorry, must have fallen asleep." Jaden pulled the covers up over himself, still in his day clothes and battered red jacket. "We got a big day tomorrow, so I think we should hit the hay."

Syrus stood over his partner in a daze for a few moments, shaking his head to try to stay awake himself. "...Yeah, I feel like a sack of bricks right now." Syrus shuffled over to his futon, getting under the covers and settling in. "Can you set the clock for us Jay?" His question was met by snoring from the other bed. Jaden was fast asleep with the 'Winged Kuriboh' card nestled in his hand, resting with his shoe-covered feet sticking out from the covers.

Syrus put his glasses on the table. He turned off the overhead light, leaving only the neutral white glow of Jaden's PDA and the dull orange streetlight outside as the only sources of illumination. Syrus fumbled under his blankets, trying to get comfortable. But Syrus just couldn't fall asleep, the young man tossing and turning, desperate to find a comfortable position. So many thoughts spun in his mind that refused to settle down for the night, his head feeling a bit hot against the brisk temperature of the room.

After what seemed like an eternity, Syrus got up to check his phone: It had only been thirty minutes since he shut the lights off. He took a deep breath and cleared out his worried thoughts as best he could._"We'll have to play it by year then, see how it goes.__"_ Syrus chuckled to himself. _"Just how Jaden likes things."_

Syrus set the alarm on his cell phone before he forgot, and made his way back to his futon. This time sleep came more easily, his mind and body finally giving into fatigue and settling down for another dull slumber.


	3. Initiation

_Hey guys! Sorry for the long gap between chapters, but stuff going on in real life had kept me from doing this chapter all the way through for the longest time. The fact that this is the first ever duel that I've written also contributed to that, even though I have been playing Yu-Gi-Oh for years!_

_I would like to thank FanficFemale for being my beta for this chapter. Thank you all for sticking around and enjoy!_

_I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX or the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game. All trademarks go to their respective owners._

* * *

"Well this is*pant*a smooth start*pant*to the day." Syrus bleated, finally getting a moment to catch his breath. The duo misjudged the time their flight was leaving, so they had about an hour to get packed, take a taxi across Sapporo on a sub-zero morning, get through check-in and sprint across the airport to their terminal on the far side.

"At least we got here in time." Jaden replied with barely any exhaustion in his voice. "It's only a short flight and we're in the clear!"

"_Getting to North Academy may be the least of our problems..."_ Syrus thought, uncertainty still lingering in the back of his mind.

Ticket check was handled by a tall, pale white man of Russian stock. The two boys handed the man their passports, Syrus a bit unsettled by the man's imposing appearance. "Hmm, Duel Academy students." The man spoke in a wooden tone, and he sounded like something gurgled in his throat with each word. "Isn't it early for student transfers?" He inquired, leaning over Syrus with an uncomfortable frown.

Syrus instinctively took a step back, the man's towering stance sending shivers down his spine. "W-we have an appointment with the chancellor of North Academy, something that we need to tell him as soon as possible." Syrus stammered the excuse he formed on the fly.

"We were sent instead of Chumley." Jaden interjected. "You know, chubby man, big red nose?" he did his best to shape his friend's anatomy with his hands.

"Oh!" The man's demeanor lightened. "We can't keep you waiting then." He handed the passports back to the two young men. "Best of luck! And say hi to him for me!" The man smiled, or at least tried to, his mouth forming a crooked grin.

"Thanks!" the two boys replied, making haste with their luggage up to the terminal. The two clambered down a flight of stairs to the craft: a small white passenger plane with a graphic of the Russian flag on the rear fin. Ice crusted along the landing wheels and along the fuselage. The two boys let some runway workers get their luggage in the cargo hold and climbed aboard the craft. The interior was very basic and made of mismatched sections of seats, suggesting that it may have been a converted cargo plane. Jaden took a seat near the window, with Syrus taking the one beside it. There were only a few other passengers on the plane, though they all appeared to be Russians returning to their homeland.

The two sat in silence for a few moments before Syrus spoke up. "Did you hear from Chumley yet?" Syrus fumbled for his cell phone. "Cause I haven't heard a word from him."

"Let me check." Jaden pulled out his battered PDA and perked up when he checked his messages. "Oh! He sent a text last night when we were sleeping!"

"What does it say?"

"He asked if we're doing alright and what we are planning to do. I'm texting him that we're on our way to North Academy from Sapporo." Jaden's fingers tapped the device's keypad, having to press the uncooperative buttons many times to stamp out each letter.

"Why didn't you pick it up earlier? He must be worried sick!"

"Well this thing lost its speaker a while ago, so I have no ringtone." Jaden took off the front of his PDA to show the hole where the speaker should have been. "I'm not a fan of phones anyway, so I never got around to fixing it." Jaden put the PDA back together and resumed typing.

The pilot came on the intercom to begin pre-flight safety procedures. Since he spoke in Russian the two Slifers had no clue what he was saying, so they pretended to listen attentively. After a couple minutes the plane's engines hissed to life and the craft began its slow taxi to the runway.

"So, do we have a plan on how to get into North Academy once we get there?"

"We duel! That's how those entrance exams work right?" Jaden pat his coat pocket to confirm his deck was there. "We just tell them about what happened and they should let us take the test no problem."

"I'm still unsure how we will convince them to let us take it." Syrus sighed, feeling a bit under the weather despite sleeping in.

Jaden pulled out his battered PDA. "Chumley said to mention the Abandoned Dorm to the school's chancellor." Jaden leaned close to Syrus's ear to whisper. "He's itching to find out what's in that creepy place too."

Syrus turned to his partner in surprise at the mention of the Abandoned Dorm. "Really? Did Chum tell you that?"

"Yeeup! Before we left, Chums told me that North Academy's boss knows more about duel spirits than anyone at Duel Academy does. 'Winged Kuriboh' bumped into Jaden's chin from the side, Jaden nudging the little spirit affectionately. "It would be nice to know more about duel spirits like my buddy here, rather than just being called a weirdo by everybody I ask."

Syrus scratched his head. "Alright, though if this doesn't work Jay we may have to swim back to Japan, since we have little money left..."

"We'll play it by year and do the best we can!" Jaden whipped out his deck box from his pocket. "We won't know until we try!"

"I guess so." Syrus shrugged, Jaden's words not easing his worries that much.

The plane stopped on the runway and fired up its engines. Soon enough the plane was accelerating up to speed and lifting off, beginning its journey to Russia. "This may get bumpy Jay, so I don't think we can duel while we're airborne." Syrus warned.

"Are you kidding?" Jaden pulled out his deck from its container. "I can probably duel on top of the plane if the pilot let me!"

* * *

To call the flight turbulent would be quite an understatement. The small plane was battered by high winds, causing the cabin to shake and jerk violently with loud and ominous creaks.

Syrus felt like he was on a rollercoaster, being jerked side to side with each motion of the cabin. Syrus found himself many times glued to Jaden for dear life, fearing that the plane was going to come apart any second. Jaden found the ride exhilarating, clinging to the seat to fight the urge to bounce around in excitement. The turbulence affected the whole trip, some sessions of violent swerving lasting for ten minutes straight.

The plane finally touched down in Russia, at a small airport just south of the city of Kamchatsky. The runway was a bit rough thanks to the constant battering of the Russian winter, so the slow ride to the terminal was pretty bumpy too.

"Umm, Syrus? You can let go now." Syrus clung to Jaden like superglue. Syrus opened his eyes to find the plane safely on the ground. "Oh, sorry Jay." He quickly detached from his partner. "I've never felt more scared in my life." Not even being frozen in place by benevolent spirits was as scary as the two hours of flight time he just experienced.

Jaden brushed off his jacket. "No worries! I know you don't like flying." He put his deck back in his coat. Somehow he did not drop a single card during the flight. He patted his partner on the shoulder once the center aisle was clear. "Now come on, North Academy awaits!"

The two stepped off the plane into a rare clear day. The tiny airport was tucked between a cluster of towering snow-capped volcanoes, the peninsula adorned with the sleeping hazards for miles around. The first thing one would feel is the sting of the local temperature, several dozen degrees (F) below freezing. To them the winter of Duel Academy was downright tropical by comparison.

The cold had the duo quickly dragging their luggage off the runway and into the airport, which appeared to be made out of a rundown metal hut. Luckily for them a few cabs were waiting at the airport entrance, with the surrounding area having no other infrastructure in sight. The two got a cab and did their best with a local map and translator book to tell the driver where to go. The taxi drove onto the worn out, unpaved roads through the Siberian tundra, and not even the driver seemed to know how far away their destination was.

Jaden checked his PDA, and laughed loud enough to unsettle Syrus from his silent state. "Chumley got your message?" Syrus guessed.

"Yup! He said we were crazy to get across Japan in one day! He says to be careful, since North Academy is a ways away from civilization." Jaden typed a message back, only to look confused after hitting "reply". "Hmm, it didn't send..."

"It's because we're out in the middle of Siberia. I doubt we'll get any signal through all of these mountains." Syrus checked his own phone and wasn't surprised to not have any signal either. "I'm sure North Academy will have decent reception, to keep in touch with the other academies."

Jaden put away his PDA, sounding excited already. "Alright! We're almost there." He grabbed Syrus by the shoulder and pulled him to his side. "You ready to start dueling?"

Syrus gulped, feeling butterflies already building in his stomach. He put down his worried thoughts, since he knew they wouldn't help him for the test ahead. "As best as I can be."

"That's the spirit! Onward to North Academy!" Jaden raised his fist high, making the cab driver glance back at him with bewilderment.

* * *

The taxi finally reached the location that Syrus guided the driver to with his map. The only giveaway was a half-covered pedestrian path that branched off the road and into the mountains. The taxi took off for civilization as soon as all of the duo's belongings were out.

"We better get into the place today," Syrus shivered, watching the taxi speed off back to civilization. "I don't wanna be left out here tonight..." Jaden was already barreling up the path with luggage in tow, forcing Syrus to chase after him in pursuit. "Hey don't leave me alone out here! Wait up!"

The path was unpaved, the surface coated in snow and battered by the harsh Russian weather. At some point the path neared the coastline, which revealed the churned white ocean crashing into the sheer cliffs that marked the edge of land. The coast certainly wasn't beach friendly, so the two did their best to stay far away from the jagged edge. Jaden and Syrus plodded along the path, their luggage taking quite a beating on the rough surface. Despite putting on several layers of clothing, the sting of cold air pressured them to move quickly onward.

Eventually the path reached a clearing. Out in the distance a trio of brass-colored spires jutted high above what looked like a fort. The path to the structure carved through a plain of sheer ice, and several mountain peaks towered over the complex for miles beyond.

"This must be the place!" Jaden huffed, taking a moment to catch his breath and to take in the scenery. Syrus followed close behind, legs already feeling sore from running up a whole mountain. Syrus readjusted his glasses, scratching some frost off of the lenses to get a better look. "T-that's North Academy? I th-thought it would be a bit b-bigger if it's out in the middle of n-n-nowhere..." Syrus did his best to speak through jittering teeth.

"Who cares how it looks? If the place has duelists I don't care where it is! Now come on, we got duels to play!" Jaden took off down the path towards the structure on the other side, almost tripping several times on patches of ice hidden beneath the snow. Syrus proceeded with more caution in Jaden's wake, getting left behind again by his more ecstatic partner.

Jaden stumbled up to the imposing gate at the base of the structure's outer wall. The doors were made of wood, with many cuts and grooves along its surface to indicate it's worn out condition. No other trees were visible for miles around, so how this wooden door was able to survive the Siberian climate was anyone's guess.

Jaden dropped his luggage and ran up to the door. "Hey! Anyone in there? We wanna duel!" Jaden banged the door a few times only to end up with his hand sore and bright red. His efforts were met with silence. "Come on, it's getting cold out here!"

"Slifers?" A voice crackled on an unseen intercom. It spoke with a confrontational tone. "I thought class was back in session for Duel Academy. What are you punks doing here?"

Jaden tapped his temple with his index finger, formulating how to tell him. "Well we had some...complications that got us booted from there. We came here to see if your chancellor could help us. Of course we're both willing to duel, rain or shine!"

Jaden was met with a coarse laugh, made more garbled thanks to the old speakers. "And why should we let you guys in if you couldn't last at another school? Plus don't think that being from Duel Academy makes you eligible for North Academy off the bat."

"I thought this academy was willing to take any duelist! Now come on, we wanna throw down!"

"The only thing we'll be "throwing down" will be you two into the bay! We don't need any more Slifer rejects, let alone rejects who just show up without a moment's notice! Now beat it!"

"B-but," Jaden fumbled to make a response, until it clicked in his head. "We heard that your boss can explain what happened in the old Obelisk Dorm!"

"What on Earth are you talking about-" The voice started only to abruptly stop. In the background one could make out another voice, but was too muffled for any listeners to hear. For several minutes the duo stood with only the chilling wind for company, doing their best not to freeze in place. After what seemed like an eternity, the intercom crackled back on. It was the same voice, but it sounded more conceited and collected than before. "Alright, you guys got a shot. You got forty cards?"

"Sure thing!" Jaden whipped out his deck from his holster in a flash, as if he was a trained gunslinger. Syrus fumbled his deck out of his pockets, being careful not to drop any cards.

The gate began opening with a loud creak, shaking off the ice and debris that stuck to it like mold. The doors touched the fort's wall with a loud bang that made Syrus jump.

"Now that's more like it! Syrus, get ready to play!" Jaden bounced through the entrance without hesitation, leaving Syrus to grab his partner's luggage which he left a few paces behind him earlier. Syrus gulped before proceeding, the pressure of whatever challenge to come making the hairs on his back stand even straighter.

The first thing Jaden and Syrus noticed when they got inside were the brass pillars that towered high above the Academy's walls. The three spires were connected at a center structure with a bunch of small windows and doors, looking a bit more spartan than they appeared from a distance. Surrounding the spire were a bunch of low-lying buildings that appeared to also be made of wood. The buildings were arranged to form streets and alleys, giving the place the look of a wild west town.

A group of young men were gathered near what looked like a saloon, all staring at the visitors with silent judgment. The glares of the crowd did not faze Jaden, his smile only appearing to grow wider when he spotted a few of the strangers with duel disks slung on their arms.

"Slifers? Who let these losers in here?" The crowd moved aside for the speaker to step forward. He was a tall and burly individual, and spoke English with a thick Russian accent. He pointed a hand at Jaden as if painting him as a target. "Now why should we let you stay in here if you can't even last in another school?"

Jaden did not break his plucky demeanor. "Well we had some bad luck, but Sy and I aren't rejects!" Jaden whipped out his duel disk in a flash, "So whose our challengers for the entrance test? We're ready to get this game going!"

The burly man only laughed, his voice reverberating through the air. "You think that you two can just waltz in here and expect an easy going? You have to go through the duel gauntlet, fighting all of us to get a slot in our school. But I doubt you two will even beat the first lackey!"

Jaden replied with a cocky smirk. "I could probably take most of you guys on! I may have lost several times in the past week, but I got plenty of fight left in me!"

Jaden's words were met with laughter from the crowd, not taking his boast seriously one bit. "Is that so then?" The crowd calmed down in response to their leader's voice. "Since you seem so eager to go, I'll make you a deal. If you beat me in a duel I will let you become a member of our little club." He then pointed to Syrus. "And he will duel our latest addition for his spot."

Syrus shrank slightly when called out, the stares of the tough crowd not helping him lift his spirits. "And who will I face then?" Syrus answered, doing his best to stay calm.

"I'll take you on!" A man on the rightmost side of the group raised his hand. This duelist had his hair extended in a forward-facing spike like a unicorn's horn. What was more intriguing to Syrus was that the man wore his duel disk on his right arm, indicating that he played left handed. "I'm in the top 30 right now, so I should be more than a match for a mere Slifer."

Syrus stood firm, not wanting to show any weakness to his opponent. "Don't expect an easy victory against me Mr..." Syrus drew a blank on the stranger's name.

"It's Lucien!" The man corrected. "And do you really think you can beat me? You look like you're barely old enough to be in academy!"

"Beat this one and I'll give you a shot to get in the top 10!" The leader gestured to Lucien before returning to Jaden. "But first I need to put you down several pegs, thinking you can just waltz in here and act like you're number one!"

Jaden got out his duel disk, the metallic silver device turning on with a dull hum and a flash of many small lights. "This is gonna be fun! I may have lost to Zane and the Paradox Brothers, but I'm still kicking!"

"Wait, the Paradox Brothers?" The tall man paused. The crowd behind him became unsettled as well, speaking in murmurs. "...who are you exactly?"

"The name's Jaden! Slifer's number one drop-out! And this is my good friend Syrus!" Jaden gestured to his partner with his hands as if presenting him.

"Jaden?" The pack leader whispered. "As in, Jaden Yuki?" The crowd now spoke in nervous tones. Although the freshman did not spend much time at Duel Academy, his exploits were heard of in North Academy's crowd, but the lack of information on Jaden left them guessing whether the rumors were true or not.

Czar shook his head and resumed his stern appearance. "I don't care who you are! I don't care if you fought the Baldy Brothers! I won't be holding back on a dropout kid! Get me my disk!" On command a lackey attached Czar's duel disk to his arm, the Czar grabbing a deck from his coat pocket and putting it in the disk. "Let's go pipsqueak!"

"Alright then, then let's get this thing started!" Jaden slipped his deck into his own duel disk and held his gauntlet-clad arm up. "Get your game on!"

Lucien started up his own duel disk as well. "We better get our duel started too!" He shouted to Syrus. "Come on, we don't have all day!"

Syrus grabbed his duel disk from within his luggage and hastily put it on. _"No holding back now Syrus."_ He thought, steeling himself up for the duel that could make or break his dueling prospects. He knew that Jaden would probably do fine, but for now he had to focus on beating this left-handed duelist. Syrus's duel disk hummed to life the same way that Jaden's did, and slipped his deck in its slot.

"I'm all set Lucien. Let's duel!"

/Lucien: 4000 Syrus: 4000/

"I'll go first!" Lucien drew six cards to start the game, not giving Syrus any time to protest. After looking through his opening hand Lucien grunted in disapproval. "Alright, I'll start with 'Magical Mallet' to return three cards from my hand to the deck to draw three more." Lucien swapped out the cards and immediately a smile grew across his face. "Much better! Now I'll set a monster face-down plus two cards on the back row and end my turn!" Three oversized cards materialized on his end of the field face-down. "Make your move short stuff!"

/Lucien: 4000 Syrus: 4000/

Syrus drew his card without reply, doing his best to focus on forming a battle plan. "I summon 'Patroid' in attack mode!" A comic-style police car emerged on Syrus's field on its hind wheels, its front wheels acting like fists that it punched the air with. "This card lets me look at one of your face-down cards! And I choose that one!" Syrus points to one of the face-down cards on Lucien's back row. The card flips face-up, revealing it to be 'Magic Cylinder'.

"Urrgh, that card looks like it can get annoying fast." Lucien commented, not that familiar with the 'Vehicroid' archetype. "It won't be standing for long on my watch!"

"We'll see about that!" Syrus rebutted, only to hesitate a bit on what to do next. "I don't wanna take any damage from that trap, and 'Patroid' only reveals the card, so I'll just set two cards face-down and end my turn."

"Not so fast!" Lucien snapped. "I play my other trap, 'Xing Zhen Hu'! This prevents you from activating your two face-downs as long as this card remains on the field!" On cue, the two face-downs on Syrus's field were wrapped in metal chains, with symbols depicting some sort of dragon glowing ominously atop them.

"Urrgh, so much for that plan!" Syrus started to sweat.

/Lucien: 4000 Syrus: 4000/

"My turn Slifer!" Lucien drew his next card without replying to Syrus. "I'll start by flip summoning my monster. Come out, 'Princess of Tsurugi'!" From a glowing square on Lucien's field a throne of large blue crystals emerged, and on it sat a lady with long, blonde hair wearing a pink robe adorned with many small crystals of the same color. Syrus's eyes widened, the monster's cross-legged stance tugging at his adolescent instinct. "I-I didn't expect that monster in your deck..."

Lucien cracked a mischievous smile. "She's a darling ain't she? And she packs a punch too, since whenever she's flip summoned you take 500 points of damage for every Spell and Trap you control!" Syrus snapped from his daze on that realization. "Taste the blades Syrus!" 'Princess of Tsurugi' grinned and flicked her hands, drawing many small crystal blades between her fingers. In a flash she threw the blades at Syrus, followed by another handful of daggers. Syrus held his hands up, only to be sliced by the myriad of blades, each slash pricking his senses.

"And that's not all! Next I tribute 'Princess' to summon 'Invincible Demise Lord'!" The princess and her throne shattered, and in their place stood a robed figure cloaked in a dark aura and brandishing a large scythe. "Now attack and destroy 'Patroid'!" On command 'Demise Lord' charged forward and slashed its scythe in an overhead motion at the machine. 'Patroid' tried to punch its opponent but to no avail, the vehicle shattering to pieces.

"Well this is going south fast..." Syrus replied, his mind starting to sink into doubt.

"Don't give up Sy!" Jaden interjected from the next dueling field over. "I know you can do it! Just keep going and don't stop 'till the last card falls!" Jaden gave a thumbs up. Syrus replied with a nod, doing his best to put down any doubts in his head.

"Hey Slifer! You forget that you are fighting me?" Czar barked at Jaden. "Unless you're giving up already!"

"I haven't forgotten about you Czar, I'm just getting warmed up here!" Jaden replied without a hint of anger.

"Well if you're done getting a pep talk from your friend, I end my turn." Lucien added.

Syrus shook in surprise, turning back to the duel at hand. "Oh, sorry about that."

/Lucien: 4000 Syrus: 2900/

"My move!" Syrus drew a card and breathed a sigh of relief. "I'll start with 'Heavy Storm' to clear the field of all Spells and Traps!" Four back row cards burst into pieces. "Next I'll summon 'Steamroid'!" A locomotive of similar comic design to 'Patroid' emerged, also using its front wheels as make-shift fists. "Now, attack his monster, with an extra 500 ATK to boot!" 'Steamroid' charged with breakneck speed at 'Demise Lord', taking it down with one ram of its steel bumper.

"Arrgh!" Lucien crunched up a bit from the damage taken. "You'll pay for that soon enough!"

"In that case, I'll place one card face-down before ending my turn." Syrus silently wished that he had more to place.

"Hold the phone, remember my 'Demise Lord'? At the end of the turn he's destroyed in battle he returns to the field with 3000 ATK and can no longer be destroyed by card effects!" The scythed fiend returned to the field, its battle aura considerably stronger than before.

Syrus's only response was a gulp, the Slifer frozen in surprise.

/Lucien: 3000 Syrus: 2900/

"Time to bring the pain!" Lucien smirked. "First I'll set another monster. Now, 'Demise Lord', bash that piece of scrap metal that he calls a monster!" 'Demise Lord' again surged toward its target, using another strike of its blade to reduce 'Steamroid' to shards. Syrus stood his ground this time to weather the oncoming force, the damage taken causing a stronger shove to him than before.

"Hold up! I activate my face-down, 'Time Machine'! This card returns my monster to its original state before the attack, like he never even left!" Thick smoke billowed from the activated trap, and 'Steamroid' burst through the cloud, alive and kicking.

'It still isn't tough enough to beat my pride and joy here!" Lucien gestured to his own monster before pointing at his opponent. "You might as well give up now and face the facts that you aren't dueling material!"

"I-I am dueling material!" Syrus stammered; starting to sound more frustrated than distraught. The young man clenched his fist and gritted his teeth, both feeling cold thanks to the frigid air. "I may have made terrible mistakes and got myself thrown out of Duel Academy not even halfway through my first year, but right now I'm more than willing to prove that I can be a duelist! And if that means kicking your butt, then so be it!" Syrus exhaled, feeling a bit flustered from his emotional vent.

Lucien looked a bit bewildered; he certainly didn't expect this shy kid to have such an outburst. "I haven't had the easiest time either kid, but at least I can stay in school, and not have to come groveling to the next school down when Duel Academy turns a blind eye!" Lucien got a bit fired up himself. "So don't bring your sob story to me! If you say you're a true duelist then prove it!"

"I-" Syrus caught himself before going on another ill-thought outburst. He took a deep breath before responding. "I will prove it! I'll prove that my last duel in front of the whole academy was a fluke!"

"Since I don't know what you're referring too, I'll set a card and end my turn. Show me what you've got then!"

/Lucien: 3000 Syrus: 1200/

Syrus drew another card and pondered what potential moves he can do now, finding himself running out of options. "I'll change 'Steamroid' to defense mode then set another monster. That's all for now."

"But not before I play my trap, 'Just Desserts'!" Lucien triggered. "This inflicts 500 damage for every monster you control!" A massive fireball emerged from 'Just Desserts', striking Syrus with a blow strong enough to push him back about a foot or two.

"Next turn I'll send you packing!" Lucien gloated.

Syrus huffed, shaking his own hair out of his eyes. "We'll see about that."

/Lucien: 3000 Syrus: 200/

"My turn." Lucien drew his card. "First I flip summon my face-down monster: 'Des Feral Imp'!" A lithe green reptilian creature emerged from the card. "This lets me return a monster from my grave to my deck. And I choose 'Princess of Tsurugi'!" Lucien flicked the card from his graveyard and added it back to his deck. "Now 'Demise Lord'! Attack his face-down!"

'Demise Lord' began its routine once more, charging forward for an overhead strike of its scythe. The slash caused an explosion, revealing a pink aircraft of sorts to appear. Syrus was quick to explain. "My face-down is 'Jetroid'! This trusty card lets me play a trap directly from my hand whenever he is attacked. And I choose 'Supercharge'!" Syrus revealed the card to his opponent, emerging on the field in the process. "This lets me draw two cards as long as I have two 'Roid' monsters on the field!"

"_Damn, I really should've used my 'Mystical Space Typhoon' on that..."_ Lucien cursed to himself, only to realize that he could not have stopped it since it was played from the hand. _"Hmm that was quite a clever move. I might wanna wrap this game up before this gets out of hand..."_ Once the effect went off, the jet exploded thanks to 'Demise Lord's attack.

"Alright, since 'Des Feral Imp' is not strong enough to break your choo-choo's DEF, I'll end my turn with another face-down. Looks like you've bought yourself some time."

/Lucien: 3000 Syrus: 200/

"My move!" Syrus drew. "Time to turn this around!"

"Is that so?"

"You'll see! Let's begin with 'Polymerization'! I will fuse 'Steamroid' with the 'Gyroid' in my hand to make 'Steam Gyroid'!". Both monsters appeared on the field briefly before merging together. In their place the familiar flying train appeared.

"You expect that bucket of bolts to beat my 3000 ATK monster?" Lucien mocked, not at all fazed.

"It will thanks to this: 'Limiter Removal'! This will double my machine's ATK, but it will be destroyed at the end of the turn!" 'Steam Gyroid' began shooting jets of steam from various parts of its body, emitting a loud whistle that unsettled duelists all the nearby spectators. "Now my monster's ATK doubles from 2200 to 4400! Now take down that reaper!" Syrus pointed to Lucien's star monster. Lucien himself was at a loss of words.

'Steam Gyroid' charged forward, its rotors spinning like a saw blade. It cut through 'Demise Lord' with little effort, tearing the fiend to ribbons.

"No! My powerhouse!" Lucien kicked the ground, tossing a bit of dust into the air. He soon regained his cool, a bit quicker than Syrus thought the cocky duelist would. "At least I'll get you next turn when your train blows up in a few moments."

"It will not, since I play 'De-Fusion'!" Syrus revealed the card from his hand. "Since 'Steam Gyroid' will be destroyed this turn, I'll split it back to its material monsters!" On his command the fusion monster exploded, and as the smoke cleared 'Steamroid' and 'Gyroid' materialized on the field, both in defense mode. Syrus wiped a bit of sweat from his face, the young man getting worked up over this duel. "Whew, now I got a solid defense. I end my turn!"

/Lucien: 1600 Syrus: 200/

Lucien grinded his teeth, a bit lost on how to respond. _"This kid ain't half bad, I thought he would crack for sure!" _He pondered his options, steadily becoming more unnerved as he saw that he could lose this duel. _"No, I can't lose to some Slifer reject, not when I'm on track to be the best in the school!" _Lucien shook his head, trying to keep a clear mind to think of a response. _"I gotta finish this quickly before he has a chance to make a counterattack!"_

"Alright, I summon 'Opticlops' and change my 'Des Feral Imp' to attack mode!" 'Des Feral Imp' stood up and bore its claws, and was soon joined by another horned fiend. "Both of them will attack your 'Gyroid'!" Both monsters slashed at 'Gyroid' with their claws, easily destroying the machine. "I'll set another card and end my turn."

/Lucien: 1600 Syrus: 200/

Syrus drew, and found himself unable to launch a counterattack from his hand. "Looks like I can't do much either, so I'll set a face-down and end my turn."

/Lucien: 1600 Syrus: 200/

Lucien drew, relieved that he finally drew something worthwhile. "Finally, it's time to end this!" I play 'The Shallow Grave'! Now both of us can summon one monster from our graveyards face-down! I will choose 'Demise Lord' of course!" The familiar fiend briefly appeared in a guarded stance before disappearing when its card turned face-down.

"Strange play." Syrus commented, wondering what Lucien was up to. "I'll bring back 'Gyroid' then!" _"At least now I can tribute both my monsters next turn, since I know he can't beat either of them." _Syrus contemplated, staring at the 'Armoroid' in his hand.

"And now I finish this game by playing my second 'Just Desserts'! Game over Slifer!" Syrus's eyes widened, right before being struck again by an enormous fireball that took out the last of his life points. Syrus's resolve buckled, and he sunk to his knees. Even though he gave it his best, a dead draw was all it took to snatch victory away.

/Lucien: 1600 Syrus: 0/

The crowd cheered for Lucien, a relief after their champion Czar was soundly defeated by Jaden not too long beforehand. Lucien held his arm up high, pointing up to the sky with a finger. Syrus dropped his cards and dug his hands into the dirt, fighting the urge to break down again and look like a crybaby in front of the entire school. He felt a hand touch his shoulder. Syrus turned to see Jaden down by his side.

"Don't fret Syrus. You did your best, that's all I can ask!"

"B-But Jaden, I lost, so they won't let me join their school..."

"No one is joining anything until I find out why you two are out here." Everyone turned toward the source of the voice. Standing at the entrance to the mess hall was a man with a raggedy beard and spiky, unkempt hair. "You're Jaden Yuki right?" The man gestured to Syrus.

"I'm Jaden!" The other Slifer replied. "This is my friend Syrus."

"Well Jaden, I heard about the buzz you generated at Duel Academy. You certainly proved your skill today by beating Czar." The man's eyes barely shifted, making out a small brown spirit that darted around the taller Slifer.

"Chancellor!" Czar interrupted. "I just wasn't giving my hundred percent for this slacker! He just got lucky that's all!"

"That will be all Czar." The man spoke with an aura of command. Czar did not respond. "Now, just what exactly are you two doing up here?"

Jaden stood up, dusting dirt off of his pants. "Well chancellor, we were kicked out of Duel Academy because we were caught exploring the abandoned Obelisk Blue dorm. We didn't want to stay there but a creepy man kidnapped our friend and tried to kill us. I was just able to beat him in a duel, but we were caught so we had to duel the Paradox Brothers to be allowed to stay in school and-"

"Okay, okay!" The chancellor cut off Jaden before his voice became too fast to understand. "Let's takes this one step at a time." A gust of coastal wind blew through the alley, causing the chancellor to shiver and grab his own arms to keep warm. "And preferably inside where we won't catch a cold!" The man's steel resolve relaxed, leaving the two Slifers bewildered.

"Just what on earth are those two referring to?" Lucien butted in, sounding quite confused over what was going on. "And the other kid just lost, so he can't be allowed in!"

"The point was to test their skills Lucien. Plenty of "Slifer Slackers" come here after being kicked from Duel Academy, but these two are the first in a long while that haven't lost in two turns, especially when they put up quite a fight against you and Czar."

Lucien only shrugged, becoming more annoyed. "You didn't answer my question Foster. Just what is so important about this "old dorm"?"

Chancellor Foster sighed to himself, unable to divert the issue. "I guess I owe you an explanation, since you did defend our academy when Czar failed."

"Hey! I'm still the best duelist here, and I can totally beat these reds no problem!"

"You'll get another chance Czar, don't worry. But for now, I want you two to come with me to my office." Foster gestured to the newcomers. "We have quite a bit to discuss. Lucien, you may come too if you wish."

Jaden and Syrus gave pause: North Academy's chancellor seemed quite odd to them, though he did seem to have an air of authority. "You...you're letting us into your school then?" Syrus spoke meekly.

"That will depend on if your story checks out." Foster replied. Syrus stumbled up, picking up his stray cards and placing them back in his duel disk.

"Alright, let's go then." Lucien answered, appearing next to Syrus without a sound.

Chancellor Foster sighed in relief. "Finally! I'll fix up some tea when we get there! Come this way boys, we got a ways walk to my office."


	4. Communication

_Hoo boy, it's been a busy year so far. But despite everything I managed to finally get this chapter done. I thank everyone for their patience for the next chapter. I would like to thank Osidiano for being the beta for this chapter. He is now the main beta for this story so hopefully future chapters will appear more consistent._

_I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX or the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game. All trademarks go to their respective owners._

* * *

"Have you heard from Jaden or Syrus at all Chumley?" Chumley snapped out of his daze. From across the table Alexis flipped through her PDA, waiting for any new messages to appear on her screen. Chumley's grilled cheese was already cold, his appetite replaced with nerves.

"I got a text from them this morning." Chumley checked his own PDA to confirm. Even though it was a Sunday the main lobby was still full of students and staff passing through, so he may have missed the hum of hos PDA. "They said they checked into a hotel in Sapporo last night and are now boarding a plane to Russia."

"They're already out of Japan? I can't believe those two!" Alexis smacked the table, pushing herself up out of her seat. "How can they cross the whole country in one day?"

A chuckle escaped Chumley's lips. "I wouldn't put it past Jaden; when he needs to get somewhere, he'll go at practically light-speed to get there as soon as possible. He's like an express train!"

Alexis sat back down, looking a bit flustered. "They must be taking the shot at North Academy. Do you think they'll take them in?"

"They will probably would have to go through initiation to get in."

"'Initiation'. Why do I not like the sound of that...?"

"North Academy's entrance exams aren't as thought out as they were to get in here. They pick someone to duel a challenger and if they win they can start school at the bottom rung."

"That's it? Why aren't there more people in North Academy?"

"Probably because no one wants to go up to the frozen north to play card games." Chumley scratched his own back. "It would probably be rough for them, but I'm confident that they can pass it."

Alexis turned her eyes to the outside. It was a cold but clear day, and one could see out for dozens and dozens of miles across the island and out to sea. In her head she tried to draw the path her two friends took from Domino across the country. Even if it was Jaden they were talking about she still didn't understand how the duo could pull it off in less than a day. "We should probably call them to make sure they're okay."

"Oh, right. We can use the video phones at the mail center to call them once they reach North Academy."

"And how would you pay for that slacker? I don't think a peasant like you could afford a satellite call." Chumley's hair stood on end upon hearing the familiar voice. Crowler stood firmly behind the Slifer, his pale face not happy to see him. "Who would you want to call anyway?"

"To call Jaden and Syrus! Sheppard threw them out into the world so someone needs to make sure they haven't gotten into trouble..."

"I think they are in a big heap of trouble already Ms. Rhodes!" Crowler laughed in a tone that made students several tables down cringe. "Plus aren't you glad that those two losers aren't stinking up the school anymore?"

Alexis stamped the table with her fists. "They were only trying to make a stake here! And Jaden is one of the best new guys in the school!"

"Don't give me that talk!" Crowler's sly resolve started to turn to anger. "We Obelisks can't be sticking around with the rejects! Especially not lazy repeaters like him!" Crowler pointed a stiff finger at Chumley for emphasis.

Chumley stood up in response. "Hey, we have a right to be in this school too Doc!". To his left a few Slifers stood a stone's throw away, all appearing frustrated and glaring angrily at the professor.

Crowler reeled himself in: as much as he would like getting some more delinquents expelled, he didn't want to do it by causing a small riot. "Jaden was the only reason that Slifer Red started to catch up to the other dorms anyway. But even he couldn't avoid making a grave mistake that any average student knows not to do."

"That 'mistake' saved our lives!" Alexis started to spit back, but quickly reigned back her temper. She quickly changed the subject. "What they did wasn't worth having them be embarrassed in front of the whole school by professional duelists."

Crowler scoffed at the comment. "Humph, I thought it was a good way to show them what part of the pecking order they were on. The ParaDox Brothers were my perfect pick to show that! Not to mention give the school some more publicity!"

"Th-They were your pick?" Chumley stammered in surprise. "On what planet is having all-star duelists fighting students fair at all?"

"We knew that the odds were pretty slim for those two, but what do you expect? The school can't let rule-breakers off the hook can it?"

"It makes the staff look pretty cruel if you ask me!"

Crowler only laughed. "Well I look forward to seeing you try to convince Sheppard otherwise. I can't wait t see him getting you get kicked out of school too!" Before he could continue his PDA buzzed in his pocket, and the professor gave it a quick glance. "I would love to keep beating the bush, but I have a meeting to go to! Ta-ta!" Neither of the students returned the farewell, but Crowler strode off without further banter.

Chumley slammed his fist against the table. "We'll show him! We can't disappoint Jaden and Sy and let our dorm get trampled on again!"

"Relax Chumley," Alexis said, sitting up to adjust her skirt. "We won't get Jaden back by beating up Crowler. But that clown acts like he knows something else..."

"Something else? What else could he do besides sick two seasoned pros on them?"

Alexis leaned closer to Chumley's ear, keeping her voice down. "I mean that Crowler may know something about what happened in the old dorm that night. It seems too convenient that he had the ParaDox Brothers ready to duel Jaden two days after we got caught."

Chumley's eyes widened, having a realization. "Now that you mention it, I did catch Crowler snooping on us when me and the guys were telling ghost stories several nights ago."

Alexis raised an eyebrow. "Ghost stories? I would think you boys would have more things to do than sit around like little kids!"

"It was a gloomy night! Not much else to do when we're all stuck inside! Regardless, I saw Crowler slipping into some shrubs for a split second. He must have SOMETHING to do with getting Jaden into trouble if he was there that night."

Alexis pondered for a few moments before answering. "Well, we need to look further into this. This all smells too fishy." She looked around to see if anyone was eavesdropping then, and upon the coast clear, leaned over the table to whisper. "We need to spy on Crowler and see if there is anything else he did last week."

"Wha-?" Alexis covered Chumley's mouth to avoid bringing attention to themselves again. "Spy on him? The doc already gives us tons of trouble. He would wring us if he caught us sneaking in his stuff!"

"If we want to find evidence to convince Sheppard to bring Jaden and Syrus back, then spying is the only way we can find evidence in a timely fashion. I bet Crowler will still have records in his office regarding the incident." Alexis put her arm down from Chumley's mouth, wiping her hand on her skirt. "He may even know why that man attacked us when we were at the dorm. The fact that Crowler didn't bring him up at all is pretty suspicious."

Chumley waited to reply, catching a glimpse of Chancellor Sheppard passing by across the room. "We'll need a plan then. We can't just sneak into Crowler's office when he's on duty."

"I'll give it some thought, since I do live in the Obelisk Dorm." Alexis winked. At that moment her PDA rang, and the young lady looked a bit surprised. "Oh! I'm supposed to meet up with Jasmine right now. I promised I'd help her train for her midterm match. We need to continue this soon."

Chumley sat up, gathering his barely-eaten grilled cheese to toss out. "We're still going to call North Academy later right?"

"Definitely! We can't leave Jaden hanging for another day." Alexis gathered her trash as well to toss. "Can you be there at 4:30 to save a booth for me? I need to get going."

"Of course! I'll catch you later!" Chumley replied. With that, the two split ways. Chumley's stomach grumbled loud enough for half the hall to hear, and he started to regret skipping on lunch so he made way to a vending machine.

* * *

A few hours later students and staff started to fill the Obelisk Dorm. Dinner was still a few hours away, but everyone had to get ready for classes tomorrow. Alexis walked back toward the dorm's exit to get to the phone center, but she bumped into someone on the way down.

"Argh, be more careful will you?" Alexis stumbled backwards, catching herself on the railing. The person turned to face her; Alexis's eyes lit upon realization, but his gaze was one of indifference. "Oh, it's you Zane! I have been looking for you!" Zane did not respond, though his eyebrows rose slightly.

"Why didn't you help us? Why did you not try to help your brother?" Alexis demanded. Zane remained silent, his stare making Alexis feel uneasy. A few students took pause along the stairs, looking to see what the commotion was.

"I can't defend Syrus if he breaks the rules, even if he is my brother." Zane's reply made Alexis start to fume. "At some point he has to own up to his mistakes."

"You know that he did nothing wrong! He only-"

"He got caught sneaking into that old dorm, which Sheppard made very clear was off-limits. If he can't follow rules then perhaps he is not ready for Duel Academy after all."

Alexis resisted the urge to scream at him. "He only went in there because I-the academy was in danger!"

"Then why was Duel Academy in danger?"

"Becau-" Alexis gulped down the rest of the sentence. As much as telling what really happened would clear the situation up, getting expelled was certainly not part of her and Chumley's plans.

A few tense moments passed, with more students gathering on the stairs to see what the commotion was. Alexis and Zane stared at eachother in uncomfortable silence, until Zane sighed. "What's done is done Alexis. Syrus is gone and there is nothing I can do about it." Zane started to walk off, giving the crowd the cue to break apart.

Alexis quickly turned towards the departing senior, sounding more worried in her response. "Would he have done the same for you?" Even she did not know the answer. Zane did not reply, and walked up the staircase and out of view. The young lady began to follow, but the chime of her PDA caught her before she started up the stairs. Alexis sighed in frustration before pulling out the device to read the message.

_Where are you? We don't have unlimited minutes on the phones, so you better be here quick!_

_-Chumley_

"_Crap! I knew I shouldn't have left after 4!"_ Alexis cursed under her breath and began going back down the stairs. Catching Zane would have to wait.

* * *

Chancellor Foster set a cup of hot tea on his desk, the three students already seated. Syrus and Lucien declined some tea, and Jaden already burnt his tongue trying to down his cup before it cooled. Foster settled down in his chair, pushing aside some loose papers and fished a pen and notepad from his cluttered desk. "Let's not beat around the bush, what do you two know about the old dorm back at Duel Academy?"

Jaden decided to start. "Well we went in there to help a friend find her brother who went missing in the dorm a few years ago," Jaden began. "But this masked man kidnapped her and forced me to duel him in the basement where there was a bunch of strange etchings on the floor and walls."

"Can you describe the etchings Jaden?" Foster asked with greater interest.

"A bunch of rings and circles, like those crop circles you'd find in a cornfield! And during the duel a bright yellow eye glowed on the floor then everything started to fog up in a purple smoke! Well, the man pumped a bunch of smoke form in the room when he dueled, but this smoke felt...wrong. Like it wanted to swallow us whole."

Syrus piped up. "The glowing didn't start until sometime after the duel started. Like the duel angered something in the building."

"This sounds pretty bogus to me!" Lucien interrupted. "Purple smoke?"

"We'll listen to what they have to say Lucien." Foster answered. "You may not know yet, but I do have an interest in these kinds of incidences."

"We thought it was a trick," Syrus resumed. "But the guy started to lose his cool when everything got purple and when Jaden beat him, a bunch of hands grabbed him and pulled him into the fog! We thought it was a disappearing act to escape, but the man seemed pretty horrified, like it wasn't part of the plan."

Foster was already taking notes of the account. "Can you tell me who this man was?"

"He called himself Titan," Jaden replied. "He was tall and he wore a trench coat, a black hat, and a silver mask. He also had this weird pyramid-shaped brooch around his neck, looked Egyptian looking. It looked an awful like that millennial puzzle!"

"You mean Millennium Puzzle?" Foster corrected. Behind Jaden's head 'Winged Kuriboh' sighed in embarrassment.

"Yeah. There were rumors that students disappeared from the dorm because of a Millennium Item cursing the place. I thought they were all blowing steam, but after what happened that night I'm starting to believe them."

Syrus put a hand on Jaden's shoulder. "That puzzle he had was a fake though, at least we think it was. When he said that there were seven Millennium PUZZLES, not items, I thought something was off. I don't think a Millenium Item can break from being hit from a card either."

Jaden laughed. "Yeah, I got him pretty good when that fake puzzle shattered into a dozen pieces!"

"If I may ask," Lucien questioned. "does this have anything to do with why you guys got expelled from DA?"

Syrus became more solemn in tone. "We tried to warn our friends about what happened, but the school made them and us keep quiet about it or face expulsion! We were forced into a tag duel in order to stay in Duel Academy!"

"Against the ParaDox Brothers?" Foster looked surprised. "How is that fair?"

"It was that sneaking Crowler's idea! He wanted us gone from Duel Academy right from the start!" Syrus smacked his fist against the chancellor's desk, causing most of the loose paper to fall to the floor.

"Crowler? I heard a few things about him from students who came from Duel Academy. Nothing good apparently." Foster tapped his pen on the desk. "But how can you be sure it was him?"

"He convinced Chancellor Sheppard to go with the duel; he didn't even try to help our case!" Syrus wanted to kick the desk, but held himself back.

"To sum up, we lost the duel, got expelled, and came here hoping to continue our dueling careers." Jaden spoke plainly. "I know our story sounds outrageous to a normal person, but you gotta believe us!"

Lucien remained skeptical. "Do you believe them chancellor? I still think the story is too crazy to be true."

Foster closed his eyes and did not respond for what felt like an eternity, leaving the three teens anxious for something, anything, in response. 'Winged Kuriboh' caught something out of the corner of its eye: It looked like a small black bird with a mask on its face flittered through the window and out the door behind Lucien. No one else seemed to notice it, so 'Winged Kuriboh' thought it to be a duel spirit.

But before 'Winged Kuriboh' could call to Jaden Foster broke the silence. "Duel Academy has kept quiet about the abandoned dorm for a good while; whatever went on in there warranted it being closed off for everyone." Foster slowly stood up, his chair creaking in the process. "But what happened there did not warrant expulsion or a gag order. I would like to know further details about what happened, so we can help clear things up."

"Does this mean we can stay here?" Syrus asked the big question the two wanted.

Foster shifted his lip. "It will be tricky to explain, but I'll let you two join our academy. On a certain condition for you Syrus: You need to qualify for a position at the school, so I will sort out a test for you."

Syrus gulped, not wanting to be back in the hot seat. "A test? Like a written exam?"

Foster shook his head. "No, not like that. It will involve dueling. I'll let you know about it tomorrow." The chancellor nodded to himself. "But for now you two can stay in the guest area."

Jaden jumped up in excitement, almost hitting Lucien with his arm "Alright! The Slifer duo is back! We won't let you down chancellor!"

"I hope so. In this school too many losses kicks you out. Keep that in mind!" Foster set his pen down. "And we will discuss more about your record and the old dorm when I ask, got it?"

"You bet!" Jaden answered.

Foster couldn't help but smirk; Jaden had a way to brighten the mood. "Alright, you two are dismissed for the day. Meet back here first thing in the morning."

"We better get our clocks right this time Jay." Syrus cautioned. The two stood up and began to leave.

"And for Pete's sake, get some proper winter clothes!" Foster added. "You guys are gonna freeze to death!"

"R-Right away sir!" Syrus stammered. With that he and Jaden left the room, leaving Lucien behind. Foster gathered some papers to finish up. "You're free to go as well Mr. Crimley."

"I still have a couple questions sir." Lucien said, making sure not to sound too demanding. "Do you think Duel Academy will come back for them?"

Foster scratched his head. "I have no clue, but regarding that dorm they've become quite aggressive in keeping it out of public eye. I don't think they would want them to stray too far from the net."

"I see," Lucien looked down briefly. "Do you want them to stay?"

"It will depend on if Syrus passes the test or not. We'll have to wait and see!"

Lucien nodded. "Alright, I won't bug you about it." Lucien got his bookbag and made his way to the door. "See you around chancellor."

"See ya around Lucien, and you did a great job today." Foster gave a thumbs up. Lucien smiled back before taking his leave.

_I may want to look into this 'Titan' fellow too._ Foster pondered through the notes he took. _Don't want him showing up and causing trouble if he's still around._

* * *

"Come on, pick up..." Alexis tapped the monitor. "You said that he would be on at 4:45?"

Chumley looked at his PDA for a second. "That's what his text says. Did you ever use this thing? I would think you would have a fancy computer to do it from your room."

Alexis shook her head. "My laptop's battery died. And it'll be weeks before I can bring a replacement out here." The terminal to continued to stay grey, with only the words "Connecting..." blinking on the screen.

"I should get a laptop myself, though I'll have to pester my dad for it, and he hasn't called at all in the past month."

Alexis turned toward the Slifer. "Really? Your parents don't bother you every flipping day? Can we swap places?"

Chumley couldn't help but laugh. "I wouldn't mind being in the Obelisk Dorm for a day! Where do I sign up?"

Before either student could continue a familiar voice shouted from the speaker phone. "Hey! Is this on?"

Alexis nearly jumped out of her skin. "Jeez, don't scream into the screen Jaden! I still need my ears!"

"Whoops, sorry! I can never figure these things out. Hey Syrus, get a bit closer!" Jaden pulled his partner toward the terminal, the shorter student's head filling the screen. "Gah! Alright, alright, just don't throw me into the screen Jay!" Syrus got off of the monitor and straightened his pale green jacket, having a bit of trouble moving his bundled-up arms.

Alexis took notice of the lack of red on the two Slifers. "What ARE you two wearing? I can barely see Syrus under that jacket!"

"We got new clothes from the chancellor! We wouldn't survive the cold if we kept our DA uniforms!" Jaden unzipped his own brown jacket, showing that he had his crimson red blazer on underneath.

"Does that mean you guys got in?" Chumley butted in. "Congratulations!"

Jaden scratched his chin. "Well, we're not QUITE in yet. I mean, I got in for beating this Russian guy, but Syrus still has to past a test."

"A test?" Alexis spoke with a bit of concern in her voice.

"Y-Yeah, I didn't beat my test duel, so I need to complete a challenge that Chancellor Foster had in mind. Don't have a clue what it is."

Chumley bit his lip. "So you're not in North Academy yet?"

"I'm in, I think, but I'll make sure Syrus gets in just fine!"

"Even though I lost yet again Jay? I'm not sure..."

"You won't pass with that attitude. Plus didn't you beat me on the train more than a dozen times?" Jaden gave Syrus a good smack on the back. "You almost had that guy last time, so I'm confident you'll win!"

Syrus visibly shook underneath that winter jacket when Jaden struck him. "O-of course, I won't lose!" Syrus replied with a bit more confidence.

"We have faith in ya Syrus." Chumley added. "I know you got the skills to impress. You got into Duel Academy no problem, so you can do this."

Syrus's eyes widened, looking like an awe-struck toddler. "Th-thank you Chumley!"

"Now that's the spirit!" Jaden wrestled Syrus under his arm. "Us Slifers can't be held down for long!"

Alexis slid back into view. "Slow down a bit Jaden; you said you THINK you got in?"

Jaden looked a bit surprised. "Weeeelllll, the chancellor said he wanted to hear more about the..."incidents" last week. He seemed very eager to hear our tale! Apparently he knows that Crowler is a real buzzkill too!"

Alexis tried to hold back her snickering. "R-Really?"

"Definitely! We're supposed to meet him again soon to explain our situation, so I think we're out of the fire for at least a little while." Jaden resumed.

"At least you guys aren't dead in the water yet." Chumley replied. "Hopefully we can get you guys back here through North Academy soon enough."

"You guys come up with a plan yet on getting Sheppard to bring us back?" Syrus questioned.

Alexis shook her head. "Not yet, it's gonna be awhile until talking to him about it isn't a hot-button topic. Especially since we need to stay tight-lipped about you-know-what."

"Well that puts a wrench in things." Syrus scratched his head. "Is it okay to talk through email about it? I'll give you guys my spare account if the Academy one is no good."

"Yeah, we're gonna need it if we don't want Sheppard getting nosy." Alexis made sure not to speak too loud in case someone might hear. "However, priority one should be to stay in North Academy. That way you guys can stay in the Academy system."

"I should probably practice a bit more before bed then," Syrus added. "I get the feeling I'll be having another busy day tomorrow." Jaden yawned in the background.

A timer beeped on Alexis' monitor, indicating that her session was almost up. "Crap, I'm almost out of time. Can you send us your backup email to Chumley's PDA, Sy? You should know his address."

Syrus looked at the corner of his monitor to see how long it had been running. "Yeah, I'll send it right after this. The signal is a bit wonky out here though so it may take a few tries."

"Alright then. Sorry I couldn't keep this thing on longer guys, but we got other people waiting to use the phones." Alexis turned to see a growing line of people for the videophones behind her. The Ra Yellow student at the front of the line looked pretty annoyed that she was taking so long.

"It's no prob! We probably won't have time to get back here tomorrow anyway, but we'll try to contact you guys over email." Jaden fumbled with his jacket's zipper, clumsily zipping back up. "You guys stay out of trouble alright?"

"I would say the same for you two, and good luck Sy! We'd be rooting for you!" Chumley exclaimed.

Syrus smiled back, his spirits lifted. "Thank you guys. Talk to you soon!"

"See ya soon!" Chumley waved. With a click the call ended, the screen cutting to black. Chumley and Alexis grabbed their things and made haste out of the room so the next person could go.

"Jeez, I didn't think the phones would be THIS busy today." Chumley groaned.

Alexis followed alongside, the two making their way to the exit. "I'll say, place was becoming a madhouse." The two stepped out into the evening air, the sky a mix of oranges and purples from the setting sun. "In any case, we need to form a concrete plan so we have something to work towards getting Jaden and Syrus back."

Chumley stretched his back out, his spine giving an audible **click**. "I know, but we won't figure it out overnight. I'd wait until we know more about Syrus's situation."

"I agree. I still think snooping on Crowler should be on the table as well. That should be a good place to start."

"And that'll be the hardest part for sure." Chumley answered back. "Especially since the Obelisk Dorm isn't fond of Slifers dropping by. You think you can get into his office?"

"I'm pretty sure I can slip in and out fast." Alexis thumbed her ear. "I'll snoop around his place tomorrow after class, then we can draw up a plan of attack that night, alright?"

"Alright, though "sneaky" is not something I can do well 'Lex."

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there then. " Alexis mused, "Maybe we can get some practice in over a couple of nights."

"And how do you suppose we do that?"

"I dunno, maybe we can try sneaking around in the basement? I can find the keys for it Chumley, just cut me some slack!"

"I'm just trying to keep us off the chopping block." Chumley waved his hands. "I don't think we'll get let off the hook this time if they catch us."


End file.
